COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline gears up

[gracielle]

FDA says Pfizer vaccine vials hold extra doses, expanding supply

Using every drop from overfilled vials could boost available doses by up to 40 percent.

www.politico.com

Hospitals say syringes supplied by feds waste vaccine doses

Some syringes aren’t efficient enough to extract a sixth dose, according to hospital lobbyists.

www.politico.com

 

[gracielle]

¿Cuánto cuesta? Un escudo legal protege los secretos de la vacuna rusa en la Argentina

¿Cuánto cuesta? Un escudo legal protege los secretos de la vacuna rusa en la Argentina

www.lanacion.com.ar

14 January 2021
How much does it cost? A legal shield protects the secrets of the Russian vaccine in Argentina.
On November 6 of last year, law 27573 was published in the Official Gazette, which empowered the Government to "include clauses or confidentiality agreements in accordance with the international market for vaccines intended to generate acquired immunity against Covid-19." However, it obliges the Executive to send a copy to the Health Commissions of the National Congress.

Due to this law, which appeals to exceptions for access to public information, today there is not much data on the contracting conditions between Russia and Argentina. In reality, the Government, according to specialists, could be abusing the article of the law. "Confidential prices exist, that is not the issue. The issue is the purchasing processes, that should be public and transparent," Adolfo Rubinstein, former Minister of Health, explained to LA NACION.

Why are the prices confidential? According to a deputy of the Nation, a member of the Commission for Social Action and Health, who requested reservation of his name, it is a condition that Russia included in the contract. In a fragment that LA NACION had access to, it is detailed: "Any information related to the content of the oral and written negotiations or correspondence, any other documents, statements related to this Agreement and the information received by any Party in relation to this Agreement it will be considered confidential and neither Party will disclose it to third parties without the prior written consent of the other Party. "

The member of the Chamber noted that the relevant documents have not been sent to the committees, as required by law. However, the Minister of Health, Ginés González García, had invited three opposition deputies, among whom was Carmen Polledo, vice president of the Commission for Social Action and Health, to meet and see the details of the transaction. The small table of JuntosXCambio rejected the offer and will ask the minister to appear in Congress to give explanations, they told LA NACION.

Different officials mentioned different amounts of vaccines purchased. Carla Vizzotti, Secretary of Access to Health, declared that Argentina would have bought 30 million doses, that is, 15 million inoculations. However, according to the documents sent to the National Congress, the purchase made committed to 20 million doses, that is, inoculation for 10 million persons.

It is known how much the Government planned to allocate to the purchase of vaccines against the coronavirus in 2021: the budget, approved by Congress, granted $ 13,697,573,617 (13 billion pesos) to the Secretariat of Access to Health for the purchase of vaccines. Therefore, it is also known who are responsible for paying the bill. With this budget (using the base price of $ 10) we could buy 16 million more Sputnik doses this year, that is, 8 million treatments....

It is known how many people they plan to vaccinate this year: it would seem to be far from herd immunity, which implies the inoculation of between 60 and 80% of the population. In fact, in planning for 2021, the vaccination of 11,214,921 (just over 11 million) persons was set as a goal for this year. This estimate does not coincide with the five populations at risk that the Ministry of Health promised to vaccinate in the first months of the year. These are 16 million: almost 400,000 members of the health personnel, more than 7 million adults over 60 years of age, around 77,000 members of the Armed Forces, 300,000 security personnel, another 7 million adults with risk factors and, last, 1 million teachers and education personnel. The total figure is 16,073,238 persons.

Beyond the contract itself, the vaccine law, passed last year, gave up "opposing the defense of sovereign immunity." According to various sources, this was a clause that Russia demanded of Argentina. It means that Argentina renounces the principle by which a state cannot be prosecuted by foreign courts. In practice, it implies that Russia could sue Argentina in another country for breaching the terms of the contract.

Finally, it is known that, in the contract, Argentina took charge of the import and transport while Russia should comply with the supply of the treatments before February 28, 2021.

On the other hand, it is not known if the State has already paid for the vaccines and at what price. The cost of the contract is the most reserved component of the arrangement, since if it were known how much Argentina paid, Russia would be limited in its negotiations with other countries. "Why should I pay more?" Other nations might question. Or, the Argentine government could complain of having to pay more than others.

According to the WHO and UNICEF, the Sputnik vaccine reported having a base price of 10 dollars (at the official exchange rate, around 850 pesos). However, it is subject to quantity agreements and geopolitical arrangements. Regarding how much Argentina pays, official sources commented that the unit price of each dose is around 17 dollars, that is, almost 1,500 pesos.

If Argentina bought between these prices, it would represent an approximate outlay of between 200 and 340 million dollars for 20 million vaccines. At the official exchange rate: between 17 and 28.9 billion pesos. In the first case, the cost could be compared to half the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

 

[gracielle]

Nextgen launches trial for rapid breath test to measure COVID-19 vaccine efficacy

Nextgen Biomed Ltd. has begun a clinical trial of a breath test to monitor antibody levels in individuals vaccinated against COVID-19. Be'er Ya'akov, Israel-based Shamir Medical Center authorized the trial for test developer Scent Medical Technologies Ltd. (Scentech Medical), which is in the...

www.bioworld.com

 

[A1buenos]

UK national here, London born and bred.

I am writing this from Tandil, 360kms away from the bright lights and big city of Bs As were most of you are lucky to live!

In the provinces here there is minimal sign of any Sputnik vacine, understand only a handful of people have been vaccinated.

Celebrating my 60th birthday recently, I'm still working hard to make a living, but the Argentine government has deemed that I am in one of the groups most at risk of contracting Covid-19.

Any yet this is Argentina, where our government has decided that this vaccinne is not suitable for those most at risk ?!

It does not really worry me, as anyhow I have no desire to take this vaccine from Russia with love!

It's the only thing that Putin and I agree on, not to risk this vaccine, as it hasn't been tested on the very people over 60s it is supposed to protect.

I hear that other vaccines are on their way now, after the shambolic management of this by Fernandez and his team.

I do not have confidence Fernandez has the best interests of us old timers here in Argentina at heart. But I live in hope, as I'm not anti-vax!

Saludos.

 

[gracielle]

Germany's Merkel 'open' to producing Russian Covid vaccine in the EU

Chancellor Angela Merkel is "open" to the idea of producing Russia's coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, if approved by the EMA.

www.cnbc.com

7 January 2021
....Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday there will be a vaccine for “everyone” this year. “In 2021, we will have 50 million vaccine doses from Moderna and 90 million from BioNTech secured. That alone is enough to offer virtually everyone a vaccination,” Spahn told German television channel ZDF. Germany has about 83 million citizens.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Spahn also said “if all goes well” there will be a new Pfizer-BioNTech factory in February to expand the number of available vaccines in Europe. BioNTech is a biotechnology company based in Mainz, a city situated on the Rhine river in west-central Germany.

 

[FrankPintor]

UK national here, London born and bred.

I am writing this from Tandil, 360kms away from the bright lights and big city of Bs As were most of you are lucky to live!

In the provinces here there is minimal sign of any Sputnik vacine, understand only a handful of people have been vaccinated.

Celebrating my 60th birthday recently, I'm still working hard to make a living, but the Argentine government has deemed that I am in one of the groups most at risk of contracting Covid-19.

Any yet this is Argentina, where our government has decided that this vaccinne is not suitable for those most at risk ?!

It does not really worry me, as anyhow I have no desire to take this vaccine from Russia with love!

It's the only thing that Putin and I agree on, not to risk this vaccine, as it hasn't been tested on the very people over 60s it is supposed to protect.

I hear that other vaccines are on their way now, after the shambolic management of this by Fernandez and his team.

I do not have confidence Fernandez has the best interests of us old timers here in Argentina at heart. But I live in hope, as I'm not anti-vax!

Saludos.

You can find the description of the vaccination program stages for Buenos Aires City here: https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/coronavirus/vacunacion-covid-19. The plan for Buenos Aires province isn't as clear (https://vacunatepba.gba.gob.ar/), but I imagine it will follow a similar path, and you would be in stage 3 in that case, and those most at risk like health professionals would be before you in the queue. I see you're supposed to register if you're interested.

Personally, I'd prefer the Biontech vaccine, but I don't see that there's any major reason to refuse the Russian vaccine.

Argentina made a big bet on the Oxford vaccine, which was delayed. Europe made big bets on some other vaccines, for example Sanofi / GSK, which will be even more delayed if in fact they're approved at all. Nobody could tell which vaccine was going to be successful when the bets were placed mid-2020, remember hindsight is always 20:20.

 

[antipodean]

Israel's massive vaccine drive isn't keeping up with new cases — especially among younger victims

A record amount of young people in Israel are contracting the virus accounting for a record one quarter of the most serious Covid cases

www.cnbc.com

Israel hits 2 million vaccinated with 1st dose; police to up closure enforcement | The Times of Israel

www.timesofisrael.com

i24NEWS

www.i24news.tv

Israel is an interesting case study to watch closely. In a country of 9m people where over 2m - 22% - have been vaccinated already (and at least 0.5m - 6% - have already had the virus) leaves us waiting to see how long before it takes real effect in a highly vaccinated population. So far there is not a reduction in the number of new cases as new infections reach record highs.

Positively however the Pfizer vaccine does seem to offer fairly rapid protection after about two weeks to those that get it.

 

[Rich One]

Maybe Pfizer BioNTECH vaccine is not that safe after all for the elderly over 80. Twenty Three elderly jabbed in Norway have died of as a consequence of side effects?

Norway adjusts advice after vaccine deaths but isn't alarmed

Norway's medicines agency reported today that of the fatalities, 13 have been autopsied and showed signs of suffering side effects such as fever and nausea.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Johnny]

Maybe Pfizer BioNTECH vaccine is not that safe after all for the elderly over 80. Twenty Three elderly jabbed in Norway have died of as a consequence of side effects?

Norway adjusts advice after vaccine deaths but isn't alarmed

Norway's medicines agency reported today that of the fatalities, 13 have been autopsied and showed signs of suffering side effects such as fever and nausea.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The Daily Mail!! Take with a grain of salt!!

 

[gracielle]

The Daily Mail!! Take with a grain of salt!!

Norway warns frail patients over 80 of vaccine risks after deaths

Officials in Norway on Thursday warned that those over 80 and the terminally ill may be at risk for fatal side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine after the European country’s health agency reported …

thehill.com

15 January 2021
....According to the agency, an average of 400 Norwegians die each week in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
“For those with the most severe frailty, even relatively mild vaccine side effects can have serious consequences,” the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said, according to Bloomberg. “For those who have a very short remaining life span anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.” The warning from Norway about the vaccine's effects on the elderly is the most severe thus far....