Pfizer says its coronavirus vaccine no longer needs ultra-low temperatures

FRANKFURT.- Promising results from coronavirus vaccine trials confirm their effects in real life, as shown by two favorable reports, in this case linked to the drug developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The two partners have asked the U.S. health regulator to relax very-low-temperature storage requirements for their vaccine, which could allow it to be stored in drugstore freezers, the companies said on Friday.

Companies have submitted new temperature data to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support a labeling update, which would allow the vaccine to be stored between -25 and -15 degrees Celsius for two weeks.

Until now, one of the setbacks of the Pfizer vaccine has been the need for storage at ultra-cold temperatures, between -60 ° C and -80 ° C, which means it must be shipped in containers. specially designed, a real logistical headache. .

Many countries and regions do not have the infrastructure for such a deployment. So much so that cold storage requirements for the vaccine sparked a fight for dry ice between states in the United States at the start of the vaccination campaign.

The FDA approval could send a strong signal to other regulatory bodies around the world and make it easier to distribute the vaccine in low-income countries.

At the same time, an announcement from Israel reinforced optimism about the Pfizer vaccine, in this case not about its storage temperature but about its effectiveness in those vaccinated. The first dose is 85% effective two to four weeks after administration, according to the Israeli study, However, this invites not to abandon the second dose.

Israel launched a massive vaccination campaign on December 19 following a deal with Pfizer that allowed Israel to quickly obtain millions of doses in return for providing biomedical data on the effect of the vaccine.

So far, 4.23 million Israelis (47% of the population) have received at least the first dose of the vaccine and, of these, 2.85 million (32%) have already had the second, according to the ministry. of Health.

Recent Israeli studies estimated the vaccine’s efficacy at 95% one week after the second dose and this new study from Sheba Hospital, published by the scientific journal The Lancet, considers it already 85% effective between two and four weeks after the first dose.

“Two to four weeks after the (first) dose, there is already a high rate of effectiveness, with an 85% reduction in symptomatic cases,” summarized Gili Regev-Yochay, co-author of the Israeli study.

AFP and Reuters agencies

THE NATION

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