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Pfizer has launched a pilot delivery program for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine in four US states, as the drugmaker seeks to address the distribution challenges posed by its ultra-cold storage requirements.
The US pharmacist said it had selected Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico and Tennessee for the program because of their differences in overall size, diversity of populations and immunization infrastructure, as well as the need for states to reach the people in various urban and rural areas. settings.
“The four states included in this pilot program will not receive vaccine doses earlier than other states under this pilot, nor will they receive any differential consideration,” Pfizer said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the results of this vaccine delivery pilot will serve as a model for other US states and international governments as they prepare to implement effective Covid-19 vaccination programs.”
A week ago, Pfizer published initial data on its vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech SE that showed it to be more than 90% effective.
The Pfizer vaccine should be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 ° F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of two to eight degrees Celsius (36-46 ° F).
On Monday, rival Moderna Inc said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing Covid-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, raising hopes that vaccines against the disease will be around. ready for use soon. Moderna’s vaccine does not require deep freezing, a factor that could be a huge advantage over Pfizer’s product.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use a new technology called synthetic messenger RNA to activate the immune system against the virus.
Experts have raised concerns about the distribution challenges associated with Pfizer’s vaccine due to its specialized storage requirements.
With a wave of optimism that a vaccine could soon control the coronavirus and the economic destruction it has caused, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record Monday for the first time in nine months.
At the helm were the stocks of the companies that would benefit most from an economy emerging from forced hibernation, such as airlines, cinemas and banks.
Pandemic winning stocks that benefited from blocking orders like Amazon and Zoom Video Communications lagged behind as they no longer seemed like the only safe bets to play.
The Dow Jones was up 470.63 points, or 1.6%, to 29,950.44. It beat its previous closing record of 29,551.42, set in February before pandemic panic sent stocks tumbling.
With Reuters and AP
• This article was modified on November 17, 2020 to clarify that the results of vaccine trials at this stage refer to “efficacy”, the performance of an intervention under ideal and controlled circumstances, not “efficacy”, which describes performance under real world conditions.
