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The UK is the first country in the world to approve the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer / BioNTech. The first 800 thousand doses will be available from next week. What do we know about pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine? How does it work and how effective is it? Here are the highlights.
- The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer relies on mRNA that encodes a viral protein. This is an innovative method of creating a vaccine
- Clinical trials have not shown any serious side effects that could be experienced after receiving the vaccine
- The biggest challenge is to develop a cold supply chain – the vaccine must be stored at -80 degrees C. Pfizer has a solution to this problem
- More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page
What’s in the COVID-19 vaccine?
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer is based on viral mRNA. Usually, vaccines contain a part of the virus (devoid of contagiousness). In this case, a viral mRNA fragment containing information about a protein that the body must neutralize was used. In response to the vaccine, the immune system will start producing the appropriate antibodies that will stop the virus from multiplying and protect us from the disease. Our immune system “remembers” this response and activates it when needed.
BNT162b2 uses messenger RNA that describes one of the spike proteins found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Interestingly, no mRNA-based vaccine has ever been approved for human use before, although clinical trials have been conducted.
Vaccines using specific RNA viral genes are a relatively new concept, but have the potential to be safer and more effective than other types of vaccine. What speaks in their favor is that there is no risk of contracting COVID-19 by administering the vaccine as there are no virus fragments in it.
Zobacz: UK: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved. Distribution from next week
Pfizer said the COVID-19 vaccine they developed shows over 90 percent of the disease. efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, based on data from early phase XNUMX clinical trials.
The study involved 43 participants from six countries who were divided into two groups: one received the experimental vaccine, the other the placebo group. There have been 538 confirmed cases of COVID-27 in the study group since the start of Phase III clinical trials on July 94. Less than 19 percent these cases were from the group that received the vaccine.
Pfizer did not raise any serious concerns about the safety of the vaccine. Among those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, some have reported symptoms similar to those experienced with the seasonal flu vaccine, but no serious side effects have been reported so far.
42 percent study participants had a diverse racial or ethnic origin. This is very important because research shows that BIPOC communities show higher rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and mortality compared to others.
See also: Rushing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine is not recommended. The pressure is enormous
COVID-19 Vaccine Limitations
The first big limitation with the new COVID-19 vaccine is how it is stored. To ensure stability, it should be stored at -80ºC. Refrigerators that maintain this temperature are standard equipment in biomedical research laboratories in universities and hospitals, but are rarely found in doctors’ offices and pharmacies. The vaccine manufacturers say it can be stored at 2-8ºC for up to five days. The preparation will be transported in special boxes cooled with dry ice. The tanks can also be used as temporary storage for 15 days, as long as the dry ice is refilled. Each package will include a GPS enabled thermal sensor that will track the location and temperature of each vaccine shipment.
The second potential problem is that two doses of vaccines are needed to achieve immunity. This is a logistical challenge – it means that at least twice as many vaccines have to be produced and everything possible to ensure that those vaccinated with the first dose complete the immunization program. In its press release, Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 50 million doses of the vaccine in 2020 and 1,3 billion doses in 2021.
Addressing problems with access to vaccines and completing the vaccination program will be key to achieving a high vaccination coverage rate and developing the herd’s immunity to COVID-19.
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