The Argentine and “Soviet” vaccine against Covid and …

The lockdown that central economies imposed on vaccines and health supplies when the pandemic was declared was a forceful demonstration of the strategic importance of having its own pharmaceutical industry.. Argentina has an indigenous vaccine in development, another associated with Mexico and this Friday the presidents Alberto Fernandez Yes Vladimir Poutine, from Russia, launched Sputnik V, “Vida”, the “Soviet” vaccine, the complete production chain of which will be carried out in the country by the Richmond laboratory.

Argentina could have promoted the development of vaccines designed, engineered and produced by scientists at Conicet and the University of San Martín, but the project would not be completed until the end of the year. The urgency forces us to look for immediate options. The first was to develop the AstraZeneca vaccine in partnership with Mexico, a project born from the conjunction of mAbxience laboratories, from Argentinian businessman Hugo Sigman, with the investment of Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, who posed as a condition that the active principle of the vaccine produced in Argentina, was packaged in the Mexican laboratory of Liomont.

The Argentine side produced the active ingredient for millions of vaccines and sent them to Mexico where they were paralyzed because the United States did not allow the export of specific filters to split and package the drug. This was another demonstration of how central economies hamper the technological development of peripheral economies, because this development makes them independent.

The Pfizer scandal

The insomnia of the opposition to the vaccine preferred by the United States motivated Thursday the exact sentence of the Chief of Staff, Santiago Cafiero: “they look like medical visitors rather than politicians”. One of the main criticisms of the opposition has been the failure of negotiations with Pfizer. The argument is completed by the fact that behind the problems with Pfizer there are anti-American prejudices.

In fact, the first choice was Pfizer because it looked like it would be the first to hit the markets. He was the first to obtain approval for the Anmat because, moreover, part of phase three of the vaccine was carried out in Argentina. AstraZeneca was born after Pfizer, while negotiations were still underway with the American laboratory (which absorbed Parke Davis), one of the main shareholders of which is the investment fund BlackRock and which has a powerful diplomatic lobby and media.

Former President Donald Trump has banned vaccines from the United States, making it very difficult for Pfizer to honor its contracts. The urgency of the governments put a maximum of tension. European Union laboratories that produce Pfizer supplied Germany, but Britain monopolized the AstraZéneca vaccine, delaying the vaccination program in several countries.

Israel, with nine million inhabitants, carried out the fastest vaccination campaign. He has a solid health structure that he made available to the laboratory to closely monitor his product, but to get it he also had to pay around $ 50 for the Pfizer vaccine, double what Europeans do. have paid.

The causes of negotiation failure

The race against the spread of the virus determined that phase three of all vaccines was shortened. Otherwise, the vaccination would have been delayed for one or two years. Which would have caused millions and millions of additional deaths. WHO and health control institutions in all countries have given “emergency” approval from which laboratories have suggested to exempt them from liability. The health agencies considered that its effectiveness was sufficiently proven without negative consequences, and the request of the laboratories was approved.

Pressed by its limitations on providing all contracts, Pfizer extended negotiations with Argentina, where a negligence clause had been added to the disclaimer. In other words: laboratories are not exempt if the vaccines arrive in poor condition. Pfizer does not accept this clause. And the government does not agree to put as collateral against any claim on the sovereign assets of the country. Who can be glaciers, at the school boat.

As of December, the government had contracts for 47 million vaccines. These alternatives (since it started with Pfizer, discussed with AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinopharm and Covax), did not last for months, but were achieved in a matter of weeks between November and December of last year, many have it. been simultaneously and still have other negotiations. In December of last year, the government estimated that more than half of the population would be vaccinated by August of this year. But the delays in January and February of all contracts, even with Sputnik, slowed the vaccination in the first months.

The role of Covax

Right now, the public immunization monitor says there are 10.5 million people with one dose and 3 million with both. If the current vaccination rate is maintained, the government would arrive at the end of July not far from the target it has set itself, even if most only had the first dose.

Of the 30 million vaccines distributed by Covax in Latin America, less than 10% came from Pfizer. The scandal that the opposition tried to set up because the government allegedly refused to receive this vaccine is unsustainable.

It is not a charity. Although funded, vaccines are paid for in the Argentine case. And in addition to governments and the WHO, Covax has representatives from industry and other market players. Covax would never have delivered Pfizer vaccines to a country that has not finished negotiating with this laboratory because it would have interfered with the transaction.

Pfizer does not deliver, CABA does not receive

Along with Sputnik and Moderna, Pfizer is one of three vaccines with an efficacy of over 90%. But it is more expensive, and its handling is problematic because it must be kept at 70 degrees below zero. And if he had, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Chile had signed contracts for 10 million Pfizer vaccines in December of last year and the first delivery was 21,000. After several months, he received two million and most of his campaign had to be done with the Chinese Sinovac. Brazil contracted with Pfizer for one hundred million vaccines and only received one million. All the laboratories have experienced delays due to market pressures.

Another sticking point has been that the opposition has rejected the national government concentrating on acquiring vaccines and other health supplies. This system was applied to prevent the country from replicating among provinces the difficulties caused by inequalities between rich and poor countries, although the approved vaccine management law allows each province, if it wants and can, to develop its own purchases. On Wednesday, the CABA government reported that its efforts with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna had failed. But on Friday, the one who announced that he had signed a contract for 10 million vaccines with India was not an opposition governor, but Axel Kicillof. He said he would deliver the Covaxin vaccines to the national government anyway.