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The coronavirus vaccine could be ready later this year. The final trials of the two drugs were completed with an efficiency of 95%. Its developers are preparing for registration and plan to start rolling out in December. Read more about the creation of a vaccine against COVID-19, under what conditions it will be received by Ukraine, which will be vaccinated first, in the RBC-Ukraine material.
Who is developing a COVID-19 vaccine
More than a hundred vaccines against the coronavirus are being developed in the world. Of these, 6 drugs have successfully reached the final stage of clinical trials in volunteers. At the same time, the creators of two vaccines have already announced the completion of the last stage:
- Vaccine co-produced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (USA) and BioNTech (Germany) showed an efficiency of 95%. Of the 43,000 vaccinated, 170 fell ill, with 162 cases in the placebo group.
- A drug Modern (United States) passed clinical trials with a result of 94.5%. Of the 30,000 study participants, 95 were infected with coronavirus, of which 90 were in the placebo group.
These vaccines are based on messenger RNA technology. When the drug is injected, the body begins to produce virus-like proteins and elicit an immune response. The complete vaccination cycle consists of two doses, administered three weeks apart.
The final phase of research for the company’s vaccine development in the UK continues. Astrazeneca and the University of Oxford. According to provisional data, the mean efficacy of the drug was 70.4%.
Also, the third stage of testing is the vaccine in question. Johnson and Johnson and various drugs from Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
The global COVAX initiative has been launched to equitably distribute the coronavirus vaccine among countries around the world. A financial fund has been created that will buy a large quantity of medicines to supply at least 20% of the population of 172 countries. COVAX is supporting the development of 9 potential vaccines, including Moderna and Astrazeneca.
When the vaccine is ready
So far, no COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use, according to the WHO.
On November 20, Pfizer and BioNTech filed an application with the FDA for an emergency use of the drug. Examination of documents and registration can take several weeks.
By the end of 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech plans to produce 50 million doses and 1.3 billion in 2021.
Moderna intends to submit documents to the FDA in the coming weeks, as well as obtain certification in European countries. The company plans to produce 20 million doses this year and around 1 billion next.
When and under what conditions Ukraine will receive the vaccine.
Ukraine has joined the global coronavirus vaccine distribution initiative. November 18th COVAX confirmed the allocation of the drug for free vaccination of 20% of Ukrainians.
At the end of 2020, the Ministry of Health will sign two agreements with COVAX. Until November 27 – on technical necessity, and until December 7 – an agreement on the terms of cooperation.
It is planned to deliver 8 million doses in various tranches, the first of which amounts to 1.2 million doses of the vaccine. The vaccine will be provided after official registration with the World Health Organization.
According to Chief Medical Officer Viktor Lyashko, thanks to the COVAX mechanism, about 4 million Ukrainians will be able to vaccinate in the first half of 2021.
Ukraine will be offered a special acquisition cost for receiving vaccines in excess of the stated volume of 20% (as a lower middle income country).
According to Viktor Lyashko, The price of the COVID-19 vaccine in two doses will be $ 14… He also noted that Hryvnia 2.6 billion were included in the draft state budget for 2021 for the purchase of the vaccine. It is planned to purchase 20 million doses.
Additionally, the Ministry of Health continues negotiations with vaccine manufacturers. The head of the ministry, Maxim Stepanov, said that at the moment Ukraine is in the stage of signing documents with Moderna. Negotiations are ongoing with Britain’s AstraZeneca and two Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
The director of the Institute of Biochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Serhiy Komissarenko, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine expressed the opinion that Vaccination in Ukraine can start in the middle of next year and will continue until the end of 2021.… Once vaccines go live, the epidemic will subside starting in 2022.
How will vaccination be carried out in Ukraine
First, people who are at higher risk of complications and death in case of infection will be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Likewise, citizens who, by virtue of their profession, are forced to have close contact with a large number of people, will be the first to receive vaccines.
The Ministry of Health has identified three priority populations for vaccination:
- on the basis of health: people with chronic pathologies;
- by age – older people (from 65 years);
- on a professional basis: medical workers, teachers, military personnel.
How effective will the vaccine be?
Experts suggest that coronavirus can become a seasonal infection… Because SARS-CoV-2 mutates rapidly, the vaccination process is likely to be complicated.
According to epidemiologist Andrei Alexandrin, it may be necessary to make vaccines for strains of the virus that will circulate during a specific period of the year.
Head of the Department of Epidemiology, NMU. Bogomolets Irina Kolesnikova also believes that for the coronavirus, the composition of the vaccine will need to be changed annually and vaccinated again.
At the same time, Sergey Komissarenko, director of the Institute of Biochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences, believes that Immunity after vaccination will be quite stable for a year..
In his opinion, the mutations that occur in SARS-CoV-2 do not refer to its peak protein. It is a protein spike that plays a critical role in binding the virus to human target cells. It is against it that most vaccines in development are directed.
Previously, scientists predicted that more than 70% of the world’s population must be vaccinated effectively to end the coronavirus epidemic.
The WHO also said that the vaccines being developed give hope in the fight against the virus, but will not completely stop COVID-19.
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