The likelihood that a corona vaccine will be available before Christmas is increasingly likely. That says Marc Kaptein, medical director of Pfizer Netherlands, in an interview with News hour. According to Kaptein, the use of additional producers makes no sense. The freezers to keep the vaccine at -70 degrees are also not necessarily necessary.
“It was Pfizer’s ambition to get it done before Christmas. That was an ambition. A dream scenario. That most optimal, less likely scenario, that is becoming more and more likely. That’s very, very good news,” says Kaptein .
According to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, corona vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna may be conditionally approved in the second half of December. I.
Ultimately, the European Medicines Agency EMA decides whether the vaccine is authorized. They determine whether it is sufficiently effective, sufficiently safe.
It kabinet announced today that people over 60, vulnerable groups and healthcare workers should be the first to receive the corona vaccine. About 3.5 million Dutch people can get vaccinated in the first quarter of 2021, Minister De Jonge of Public Health announced.
License
Pfizer will not release the patent on its vaccine, although demand for the vaccine will likely be greater than is available at first. Experts believe Pfizer should issue a license to increase production.
According to Kaptein, Pfizer is willing to grant a license to a ‘reliable third party’, but the question is whether that makes sense. The four eligible producers are themselves busy developing a vaccine. “Even if we become mandatory, the question is whether that will speed things up.”
The practical point that the vaccine should be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees is less of a problem than is thought, according to Kaptein. “If the vaccine is thawed, it can be kept in the refrigerator for another five days. Who would leave a life-saving medicine for five days? I think it will be gone within hours.”
Kaptein does not want to answer the question whether 54 chest freezers were wrongly ordered. “I am not responsible for logistics. You can also order a portion from our factory in Belgium every day. That choice lies with RIVM.”
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