– Although intensive work on vaccines against the coronavirus is underway, it may turn out that none of the vaccines will pass the third phase of clinical trials – virologist Dr. Tomasz Dzieiątkowski, a virologist from the Medical University of Warsaw, told Medexpress.
Martyna Chmielewska, Medexpress: We know that scientists are currently racing to produce an effective and safe vaccine. More than 150 vaccines are under development. What criteria should a vaccine meet in order to enter the market?
Tomasz Dzieiątkowski: Above all, the vaccine should be safe, it must not have any undesirable effects. It has to be immunogenic, i.e. effective, to generate a response from our immune system. These are the two basic criteria. Without them, no preparation will be authorized.
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We know that the US and UK signed contracts in July to supply large batches of vaccines, provided they pass clinical trials. How do you think Poland will get vaccinations? Will we be able to afford them?
Most likely, we could afford the vaccine. US billionaire Bill Gates has allocated $ 150 billion to make one dose of the vaccine cost around $ 3. Will Poland really be in the leading position in the multitude of contracts? I do not know. It will depend on many issues, including fair distribution of vaccines. Many world-renowned scientists mentioned that programs should be developed that would allow for fair distribution of these preparations to all countries of the world.
Should we therefore strive to obtain a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible? Do you think that it would be better to wait and see if the vaccine works in other countries, is it effective, are citizens responding well to it and only then introduce it to the Polish market?
All of this is included in clinical trials. If the vaccine is approved by the US FDA or the European EMA, it means that the preparation is effective and safe. The only question is when it will be available to us. The approval of the vaccine by the EMA means that it is also allowed on the Polish market.
- Our Country announces a vaccine in October. How is the work in other laboratories going?
We know that a team of scientists from Poznań is also working on a vaccine. Do you know what the research results are already?
I don’t know. There have been reports in the media that a good and credible team of scientists from the Medical University of Poznan, who has experience working with other cancer vaccines, is working on a vaccine against coronavirus. The problem is that the results of either phase of this research have not been published. Therefore, it is difficult to expressly comment on this topic.
The research of the Biostat company shows that every second Pole intends to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Almost half of Poles are concerned about the deterioration of their health due to the limitations related to the pandemic. Should the coronavirus vaccine be mandatory and reimbursed?
All the time we “split the skin of the bear”, which is far in the forest and it is not known at all whether it will come out of this forest. Despite intensive work on vaccines, it may turn out that none of the vaccines will pass the third phase of clinical trials. Therefore, there will be no such preparation on the market. Should the vaccine be compulsory and reimbursed? This is a moot point for many reasons. Compulsory vaccines are included in the universal vaccination schedule. It only applies to children and adolescents. COVID-19 infections in this age group are not clinically marked. Of course, children and adolescents are vulnerable to the coronavirus. Although they are practically not symptomatic, they can infect other people. Therefore, the vaccine against the coronavirus should be used in the first place in patients at risk, possibly in medical personnel. At the moment, we do not have any legal tools in Poland to de facto force adults to vaccinate themselves with the coronavirus vaccine. Should the vaccine be free? I do not know. It would be the most convenient solution. None of the vaccines intended for adults are free. The exceptions are those that are co-financed by specific municipalities. These are vaccinations for seniors, e.g. against influenza or pneumococci. Most citizens who want to hook up have to pay for it.
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