China’s first million Covid vaccines to arrive in Argentina in January

China’s first million doses of Coronavac vaccine reportedly in Argentina from January 20, if the terms of the memorandum of understanding that the national government negotiated with the Butantan Institute in Brazil are respected.

The Ministry of Health of the Nation intends to sign the final agreement during the first days of January, in principle, for a total of 10 million doses that would be delivered in a staggered manner during the rest of the summer and until in May in order to join the Operational vaccination against the coronavirus.

At the rate of two doses per person, it is a total of five million that can be inoculated from the agreement between the Argentine state and this autonomous institute which operates under the political direction of the state of São Paulo. The second million doses would arrive on February 20, another million, in March, to supplement the 20 to 30 percent dose advance of Coronavac during the summer. Then they would disembark the remaining seven million doses in May.

Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Ecuador are also looking to acquire this variant of the Covid vaccine which has certain comparative advantages from a logistical point of view.

It is one of three vaccines produced by China to end the coronavirus pandemic. In this case, the responsible laboratory is Sinovac Biotech, which has signed an exclusive agreement with the Butantan Institute for the production and distribution of its immunizer in Latin America.

In fact, as the São Paulo center itself reports, it is not only Argentina that is negotiating its supply, although it is true that it is the most advanced contract. Too Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Ecuador seek this variant of the Covid vaccine which has certain comparative advantages from a logistical point of view. The only possibility of making a deal with the institute was through the state and not through private parties, they told PROFILE.

Thanks to the agreement between Sinovac Biotech and the Butantan Institute, the Brazilian laboratory has become a sort of representative of the Chinese firm in the region. As a result, some efforts by private parties who attempted to negotiate the purchase of Coronavac directly from China have failed. For Argentina, Alberto Barbieri, rector of the University of Buenos Aires, liaised with the government.. He became aware of this limitation of access to the Sinovac vaccine during one of the rounds of interconsultation with the Ministry of Health and served as a bridge to bring the parties together thanks to his personal link with the head of the region, Ginés González García, and the coordinated work of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) with the Butantan Institute.

Early December, directors Dimas Tadeu Covas and Raúl Machado visited Buenos Aires. Among the many meetings they held, they went through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where they were received Felipe Solá, the secretary of international economic relations, Jorge neme, and the chief of staff of the ministry, Guillermo Justo Cháves. In public statements in his country, Covas has defined it as “a vaccine for the world, not just for Brazil”.

The person who served as a link was the rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Alberto Barbieri, based on his personal link with Ginés González García and the coordinated work of the UBA with Butantan.

São Paulo Governor Joao Doria also participated in the meeting via video conference. Confronted politically with President Jair Bolsonaro, the head of state acted on his own to attack the pandemic, sometimes defying the orders of the first president, as was the case at the time of the quarantines. Bolsonaro questioned, in the past few hours, whether Sinovac – but neither Pfizer and Oxford – had yet submitted the documentation for their national clearance.

Although the agreement between the institute of São Paulo and the Chinese laboratory envisages the transfer of technology so that the production of Coronavac is entirely carried out in Brazil, it would not be until 2022. In the meantime, the Butantan institute receives the product without label, gives it its quality certificate and packages it for distribution. Depending on what PROFILE might know, they will be distributed in 10 and 20 dose vials.

December 10, Doria has confirmed the start of vaccine production at the institute, with full operation seven days a week, in successive shifts, to produce up to one million doses per 24-hour shift. Until October, the institute worked two shifts a day, from Monday to Friday.

After signing the agreement with the Chinese firm, in the middle of the year, Almost 50% more employees have joined its stable of 244 professionals to strengthen production capacity. In addition, Sinovac Life Science provided six machines for the extraction of the compound vaccine.

On December 3, the Chinese laboratory sent the first 600,000 liters of bulk vaccine for fractionation to Brazil. Between March and April, they are expected to export other large hoppers to work with these mechanics over the next year. It wasn’t until 2022 that it would cease to be a Chinese license to become Brazilian.

It can be stored at a cold temperature between 2 and 8 degrees and withstands up to 25 days at room temperature. Its application consists of 2 doses with a difference of 21 days

Coronavac is an inactivated anti-virus vaccine, specialists explain, with different technology from Sputnik V and Pfizer. It can be stored at a cold temperature between 2 and 8 degrees and lasts up to 25 days at room temperature. Its application consists of 2 doses 21 days apart between the two and the component does not differ from the first to the second, as happens with other vaccines.

The scientific journal Lancet published, last November, the positive results of Coronavac corresponding to phases 1 and 2 and on October 19, both the government of São Paulo and the Butantan Institute, announced that it was the “safest among vaccines in final phase of clinical studies in Brazil”. It was based on the 744 volunteers in China.

Of all those who received the dose or the placebo, only 35% recorded some type of adverse reaction classified as mild, ranging from low fever to local pain. “No serious side effects have been recorded,” the Brazilian center reported. And it was then reported that the vaccine had the ability to produce an immune response within 28 days of its application in 97% of cases. Phase 3 culminates in Brazil with around 11,000 health officials and on the verge of receiving approval from the National Agency for Health Surveillance (Anvisa), the Brazilian ANMAT..

The state of São Paulo intends to launch its local campaign on January 25. Talk about 11 million doses. At the same time, it must start supplying Argentina in the event that the agreement is signed immediately, as indicated by sources linked to the operation on this medium.

With more than a century of life, the Butantan Institute is located in the homonymous area of ​​San Pablo and works in coordination with the UBA, in Argentina, in studies and fundamental research in the fields of biology and science. biomedicine. It is the main producer of immunobiological products in Brazil, responsible for a large percentage of the production of hyperimmune sera and a large volume of the national production of vaccine antigens., which are the vaccines used in official programs.

In addition, it supplies the Brazilian public health system with 90% of the antivenom, 65% of all vaccines distributed in the country and produces 100 million annual doses for the Brazilian vaccination program and 100% of influenza vaccine doses used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, reported a statement from the Argentine Foreign Ministry corresponding to the day of the meeting. It also claims it is the largest manufacturer of influenza vaccines in the southern hemisphere.