Three million Sinopharm vaccines arrive in Argentina
The Government finally signed the contract with the Chinese laboratory. The new doses are in addition to the first shipment of one million that had already arrived in the country and that began to be applied to teachers.
The national government signed a contract with Sinopharm on Wednesday for the arrival of 3 million doses. According to official sources, it is estimated that coronavirus vaccines from China will arrive in the country from next week. Work is being done on logistical details to define the precise date of arrival.
This is the third shipment that will arrive from the Asian country, after a first flight of Aerolíneas Argentinas that landed at Ezeiza International Airport on February 25 with 904,000 doses and a second that arrived in the country on February 28 with another 96,000 doses.
President Alberto Fernández had anticipated last Monday in a television interview that a new agreement with Sinopharm was imminent. In that report, he also said he had managed "with the Russian Federation to set a delivery schedule that allows us to have vaccines every week," so it is expected that the immunization campaign in Argentina will finally be able to increase its pace.
At the moment, it is only approved until the age of 60 in Argentina. It is estimated that the authorization for people over that age will be finalized soon.
In the Asian country, for its part, the authorization occurred at the end of December, when the laboratory reported that its vaccine had an efficacy of 79%.
Sinopharm vaccine
It is an inactivated vaccine, which means that it carries a genetically altered version of the virus that prevents it from reproducing and developing the disease, but that generates an immune response in the body with protective capacity.
The vaccine requires two doses that must be given at least 21 days apart, and can be transported and stored between 2 and 8 degrees and remain stable for 24 months.
