COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline gears up

[gracielle]

El ministro Ginés González García, en la mira y los negocios ocultos de la vacuna rusa

El ministro Ginés González García, en la mira y los negocios ocultos de la vacuna rusa

www.lanacion.com.ar

18 December 2020....by Laura Di Marco
Minister Ginés González García, in the crosshairs and the hidden businesses of the Russian vaccine
....It is not known why he (the president) trusts, because all specialists, even those who advise him, admit that, about Sputnik, there is a lot of darkness: in principle, there is no information about phase 3....In reality, the government vaccination operation faces three bad news: the first is that the Oxford/AstraZeneca doses are delayed (it is the vaccine that will be produced in Argentina in the laboratories of businessman Hugo Sigman, closely linked to the Government ). The second is that the agreement with the North American Pfizer was dropped, and the third is that the Russian vaccine is not safe in those over 60 years of age, Deputy Minister Carla Vizzotti who is now in Russia announced today....

....The scenario triggers several questions: What is the point of buying a vaccine that does not immunize those who have to immunize? Why did Argentina not sign the agreement with Pfizer when it was the first vaccine that the Government negotiated, in August, when it announced that the country had been selected for clinical trials? Remember that Pfizer was the first to receive the President. On July 10, Alberto received in Olivos the general manager of Pfizer in Argentina, Nicolás Vázquez, and the scientific director of the Infant Foundation, Fernando Polack: there it was reported, with great fanfare, that Argentina had been selected to carry out one of the testing phases for a possible vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus. This clinical trial has already been carried out in Argentina with 6 thousand volunteers, led by Polack, a scientist recognized in the world. Pfizer signed agreements to supply its vaccine with the United States, the European Union, several Arab countries, and in the region with Mexico, Ecuador and Chile. Why not in Argentina?

....The vice president of PRO, Federico Angelini, denounced lobbies of "business friends of the Government" so that Argentina does not close the agreement with the North American company Pfizer. The opposition points to the businessman Hugo Sigman, owner of laboratories associated with the production of the AstraZeneca vaccine and very close to the Minister of Health, Ginés González García. Could there have been a lobby in favor of government businessmen to block the agreement with Pfizer? Behind the production of the vaccine in Argentina there are three protagonists that I want to show you and who are closely linked to politics and this Government.

One is Juan Manzur, physician, governor of Tucumán and Alberto Fernández's main ally. He was Cristina Kirchner's Minister of Health and is closely connected with the businessman producing the vaccine, Hugo Sigman, of the AstraZeneca scheme. So connected are they that the authors of a biography on Manzur, colleagues at La Gaceta ("to his health, the story of the richest minister of the K era") dedicate a chapter to Sigman. According to Alberto Fernández, Sigman was a contributor to the current President's campaign.

The third protagonist of this plot is Minister González García who, in 2003, is the one who puts Manzur into politics (Balestrini, then mayor of La Matanza). In 2010, a plot very similar to the current one with influenza A occurred: Cristina Kirchner announced the production of the vaccine in Argentina. And guess which laboratory benefited from the production of the influenza A vaccine: Sigman's Insud group, in a very similar agreement with a foreign laboratory. And who was the Minister of Health, during influenza A? Juan Manzur. All names that are repeated.

Manzur succeeded Graciela Ocaña, who left the Government in 2009. According to this agreement (2010) the Argentine government promised to buy between 10 and 12 million doses of vaccine for influenza "A". And what happened to those doses? According to deputy Ocaña, half of those doses never reached the people and it is not known where they are....

 

[gracielle]

Vladimir Putin dijo que Rusia evalúa crear una vacuna “light” con una protección reducida para abastecer a los mercados externos

En su conferencia de prensa anual, el mandatario anticipó que tendría una eficacia del 85% y un efecto “más corto” que la versión original, pero que podría aplicarse en una sola dosis. El instituto que la fabricaría dio más detalles

www.infobae.com

18 December 2020
Vladimir Putin said that Russia is considering creating a "light" vaccine with reduced protection to supply foreign markets. In his annual press conference, the president anticipated that it would have an efficacy of 85% and a "shorter" effect than the original version, but that it could be applied in a single dose. The institute that would manufacture it gave more details....The objective of this vaccine that he called "light" would be to supply the strong external demand it is receiving from different countries around the world...

 

[gracielle]

Alberto Fernández negocia la compra de 15 millones de vacunas chinas, mientras aguarda que Rusia autorice la Sputnik V

Se trata de una opción sanitaria que maneja en silencio la Casa Rosada para tener una mayor cantidad de dosis a disposición frente a una posible segunda ola de COVID-19 en la Argentina

www.infobae.com

18 December 2020
Alberto Fernández negotiates the purchase of 15 million Chinese vaccines, while waiting for Russia to authorize Sputnik V. It is a health option that the Casa Rosada is handling in silence to have a greater number of doses available in the face of a possible second wave of COVID-19 in Argentina.

The negotiation of the Chinese vaccine is led by the Minister of Health, Ginés González García, and the Asian companies Sinopharm, Cansino Biologics and Sinovac. Each Chinese vaccine is priced at $20 and its commercial access is estimated for mid-2021. Ginés González has already closed a technical agreement with Sinopharm to have priority in accessing the millions of doses that Argentina will eventually need. And according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, based on clinical trials of phases 1 and 2, "the Sinopharm vaccine candidate is safe and generates an immune response."

In turn, Sinovac Biotech is testing a vaccine called CoronoVac that also crossed from phase 2 to phrase 3. "Our findings show that CoronaVac is capable of inducing a rapid antibody response within four weeks of immunization," said Zhu Fengcai, author of a technical report published in the specialized journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Finally, CanSino Biologics Inc has a vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology that will be studied in Phase III by the Host Foundation. This scientific study will be carried out in 11 health centers in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) and Mar del Plata. The development of CanSino Bio contemplates a single dose vaccine, which is stored at between 2 and 8 degrees, which facilitates logistics in case of showing good results in the Phase III study. The Phase I and II studies involved 616 volunteers who exhibited good preliminary results and no serious adverse effects.

The negotiation with China monitored by Alberto Fernández moves at a constant pace, but it is unlikely that the commercial operation will close in the coming weeks. The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, is betting on trading seriousness for speed and will only consent to the sale of the vaccines when all medical tests have been completed....However, and despite Alberto Fernández's intentions to have an extra supply of doses against COVID-19, the Chinese vaccines could reach Buenos Aires by May 2021....

 

[sts7049]

maybe if china's vaccine falls through they can turn to Cuba next

 

[gracielle]

maybe if china's vaccine falls through they can turn to Cuba next

So far Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are the other Latin American countries only getting the Sputnik V vaccine!

 

[Renzi]

So far Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are the other Latin American countries only getting the Sputnik V vaccine!

Well, if it's good enough for Oliver Stone..

Oliver Stone “Hopeful” After Receiving Russian COVID-19 Vaccine

Oliver Stone recently was administered the Russian version of the COVID-19 vaccine and says he is not concerned.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[gracielle]

Well, if it's good enough for Oliver Stone..

To each his own. I choose to take into consideration the endorsements of the scientific community as a whole when it comes to selecting a vaccine.

 

[gracielle]

FDA Takes Additional Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for Second COVID-19 Vaccine

Today, the FDA issued an EUA for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

www.fda.gov

 

[gracielle]

Diario Clarin published this article yesterday at 4:17pm....
Russian vaccine against coronavirus: the Government spoke of 600 thousand doses and now clarifies that there are only 300 thousand in December. It was another of the inaccuracies of the announcements that later had to be clarified by official sources.

The second dose for the 300 thousand vaccinated would be made with the new batch in January. Doses 1 and 2 of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V are not identical and must be given 21 days apart....There are not 600,000 doses of the Russian vaccine against the coronavirus that will arrive in Argentina on December 24. There are 300,000. An official source called to clarify the issue when Clarín had a note with the highest figure online. "So they are going to vaccinate only 150,000 people in the first round?" Asked this medium. "No. We are going to vaccinate 300,000. 5 million more doses arrive in January, so the second dose, 21 days later, is guaranteed ”....That is, only the dose or component 1 of the Russian vaccine, which involves two ampoules. In other words, half a vaccine will arrive for 300,000 people....

 

[Renzi]

This is what leadership looks like.

Netanyahu, Edelstein kick off Israel's COVID-19 vaccination campaign

"We have brought millions of vaccines to our little State of Israel and everyone needs to be vaccinated."

www.jpost.com