[ad_1]
In an important announcement, Pfizer announced Monday that its vaccine candidate has been shown to be over 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 in participants without evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first scan of intermediate efficiency.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, a biotechnology company, are developing an mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2 which they say has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against Covid-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on the first interim efficacy analysis.
In India, key sources within the national expert group deliberating on the vaccine strategy for the country say India has already contacted representatives of the US-based Pfizer Indian subsidiary. This meeting took place days after the global pharmaceutical giant released the first data from the first phase. In India, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 is deliberating on the strategy to ensure the availability of Covid-19 vaccines and its distribution mechanism.
In addition, members of the national expert group have been very discreet about Pfizer. But Dr Randeep Guleria, who is a member of the expert panel, told News18 in a previous interview that there is a possibility India could buy Pfizer vaccine for cities. News18 asked Dr Guleria about the problems with storing a vaccine like the one developed by Pfizer since it needs to be stored at -70 degrees. News18 also asked Dr Guleria about Moderna’s vaccine which should be stored at -25 degrees. This was before Pfizer announced that its vaccine was showing up to 90% effectiveness.
“We will see how we can position these vaccines. We may not be able to administer some vaccines, which require -70 or -80 degrees, in small towns and rural areas. Maybe we can have these vaccines in the big cities, ”said Dr Guleria.
Experts say vaccines like Pfizer will require strict refrigeration standards. This could be the only factor that could affect how they are distributed across the country.
However, will the vaccine require transition studies in India, will India place orders from Pfizer like the United States, Canada and Japan, this is not something the government reveals at this point.
What is reassuring is that unlike any other vaccine in development against Covid-19, Pfizer is also tested on children, as studies show, are affected by the virus and are transmitters as well. Children as young as 12 have been enrolled in their trials.
[ad_2]
Source link