[ad_1]
The Moderna vaccine produced at Visp has received limited approval. This will give Switzerland the supplies it urgently needs.
The Moderna vaccine is already used in Germany, the United States, and Great Britain, and is now approved in Switzerland as well.
Photo: Christopher Doland (Keystone / AP)
The Swiss Medicines Authority Swissmedic Temporarily approved the mRNA vaccine from American manufacturer Moderna on Tuesday afternoon.. Along with the Biontech vaccine that has been in use since Christmas, Switzerland can now count on two different manufacturers and is no longer dependent on a single supplier. The cans are also produced in Switzerland; pharmaceutical supplier Lonza has established three production lines at Visp for this purpose.
At the moment, admission is only granted for a limited period because individual data is still missing. It is not yet clear how long the protective effect will last, Philippe Girard, deputy director of Swissmedic, told the media in Bern on Tuesday. The available data showed that the effects lasted for three months. The vaccine will probably last much longer. Moderna herself announced Tuesday morning that the protective effect should last at least a year.
Furthermore, Swissmedic still lacks data on the subject of pregnancy, Girard added. The companies are in the process of carrying out these studies. As soon as the data is there, unlimited approval can be discussed. At the moment, the benefit / risk ratio is positive, so the vaccine could be approved for a limited time, Girard said.
First delivery on the way
The first delivery of 200,000 doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for Switzerland will arrive on Wednesday. Health Minister Alain Berset announced this Tuesday on Twitter.
The vaccine goes to the army pharmacy, as announced on Tuesday by the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). The army pharmacy distributes the vaccine to the cantons. There would be more deliveries at regular intervals. It is not yet known exactly when the next batch will arrive. The head of the BAG department, Nora Kronig, promised at a press conference that one million vaccines will arrive in February.
So far 234,000 cans have arrived from Biontech / Pfizer and with the next delivery of 126,750 on January 18, Switzerland will be able to inoculate 560,750 cans, Kronig estimated. This allows the vaccination of four percent of the adult population.
Switzerland has reserved a total of 7.5 million doses of Moderna vaccines. All cans should be available by the end of June 2021. the manufacturer promises. This also applies to the 3 million cans of Biontech. “Anyone who wants to be vaccinated should be able to get vaccinated before the summer,” writes the BAG (read also: Are these vaccines sufficient for Switzerland?)
Currently, the vaccination campaign is focused on the elderly. 1.63 million people in Switzerland are over 65 years old; 3.26 million doses are needed. Because, as with Biontech, Moderna’s remedy needs two doses of vaccine to be effective. Based on current data, Swissmedic recommends respecting the Moderna vaccination interval of four weeks and not postponing the second dose. According to clinical studies, vaccinated people are reliably protected 14 days after the second injection.
The next vaccine is coming soon
With a total of 10.5 million mRNA vaccines, it should be possible to immunize 5.25 million people in Switzerland in the first half of the year. Astra-Zeneca’s vector vaccine has not yet received approval and an additional 5.3 million doses have been ordered. All in all, there would be enough vaccines available for all adults in Switzerland – around 7.1 million people. The vaccine is already in use in Britain, according to the evaluation of Swissmedic should take place in january.
For now, the Moderna supply brings urgently needed relief for the Swiss vaccination campaign, which started slowly due to low stocks of the Biontech vaccine. Lonza now produces up to 800,000 Moderna cans per day, but they are destined for other countries as well. The EU has reserved 160 million, the US even 200 million; There are also other production sites that have been in operation for some time. (More about the subject: Where is Switzerland in the great vaccination race.)
Modern vaccination at the family doctor
Unlike Biontech’s approval, the EU was one step ahead of Switzerland with Moderna’s funds and began distributing them on Monday, one of the biggest logistics tasks Moderna had to deal with so far, the company announced. The active ingredient is supplied by the Swiss logistics company Kuehne + Nagel. A fleet of around 200 special pharmaceutical transport vehicles is used to ensure that the required temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius is maintained.
Once the vaccine arrives, it can be stored in the refrigerator for 30 days. This means that general practitioners’ offices can also administer the vaccine. However, this must be well planned, because one vial contains ten doses of vaccine and must be consumed within six hours. If all manufacturers deliver the promised quantities, up to 75,000 people in Switzerland will receive a vaccine every day, but the maximum capacity will likely only be reached in spring.
Since two syringes are required, 37,500 people could receive the first dose every day and another 37,500 the second vaccine. When those 65 and older are finished, it will take about 20 more weeks to vaccinate everyone ages 20 to 64, some of whom are already preferred health workers or at risk.
Freedom of choice remains open
Whether one can choose which vaccine to receive remains an open question. Christoph Berger, chairman of the Federal Commission for Vaccination Affairs, said before Christmas that the population had no other choice: “There will be no request for a concert,” Berger said. The vaccine currently in stock must be vaccinated. If there is enough availability, an indirect choice is still conceivable. In Germany, for example, only one product from one manufacturer is offered per vaccination center. Those who want to be vaccinated can choose where they want to be vaccinated and thus also have control over the vaccine.
This is now also conceivable in Switzerland: those who prefer the Modern vaccine could now try to get vaccinated at a family doctor’s practice where the Biontech vaccine is not administered. However, the two mRNA vaccines are virtually identical, so a selection currently makes little sense anyway.
As soon as the Astra-Zeneca vector vaccine is available, this question should arise again, as the population still has reservations about the new mRNA vaccines, despite years of testing phases and strict approval criteria. An election would mean more effort, but it could also mean that more people would be willing to get vaccinated. This could be crucial in achieving herd immunity.
Side effects are similar
The two vaccines from Moderna and Biontech so far mainly differentiate between the various cooling requirements during transport and storage. Additionally, the Moderna vaccine should be effective for at least a year, according to the company. Biontech has not yet given precise details, but it also has this time frame. Side effects, efficacy, and application are very similar.
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine can be administered to individuals over the age of 18 in accordance with the drug information and official federal vaccination recommendations. The vaccine consists of two doses administered intramuscularly by trained medical personnel one month apart.
Currently, it is not allowed to give both vaccines to children because the necessary studies have not yet been completed. The tests focused on the most vulnerable adult population. In addition, both agents require two vaccination appointments and both have shown a high level of effectiveness of about 94 percent and few side effects in series of tests. Swissmedic writes of the Moderna remedy: “The most common documented side effects are comparable to those of a flu vaccine.” People with an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients should not be vaccinated.
More about the subject: As Claire-Anne Siegrist, the most renowned Swiss vaccination researcher, weighs skeptical arguments about vaccines.
