Vaccine a light in the darkness
Brighter days could be ahead after what appears to be good news on a coronavirus vaccine. Drug firm Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are expected to apply this month for emergency-use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, after reporting that its vaccine might be 90 per cent effective, based on early, incomplete test results.
The approval application would involve two months of safety data.
But there are important caveats before anyone gets too excited.
The data is preliminary and will need to be scrutinised further. There is no way of knowing how long immunity would last. Study participants received a coronavirus test only if they developed symptoms. Will all ages have similar results?
NBC News reported scientists anticipate the shots would cause “enervating, flu-like” side effects that could last days.
Early trials of several Covid-19 vaccines suggest consumers will need to be prepared for side effects that could disrupt daily life.
Still, US infectious-disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said the results are “just extraordinary”.
CNN medical analyst Dr Jonathan Reiner called it “a light at the end of the tunnel that’s not an oncoming train”.
It is among several vaccines in development and, importantly from New Zealand’s point of view, one we have a pre-purchase agreement for.
We will be receiving at least 1.5 million doses, enough to immunise 750,000 people. The vaccine should be rolled out here next year – provided it meets our local regulations and has successfully passed the trial process.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) hopes to start vaccinating highrisk groups by March.
It could also be a boost for US President-elect Joe Biden , who is unable to take official control of pandemic plans until his inauguration in mid-January.
Biden this week set up a coronavirus advisory board of medical experts to coordinate efforts once he takes over.
The short-term outlook is not good and Biden urged Americans to embrace mask-wearing now.
The US, which has a fifth of the world’s coronavirus cases, has passed 10 million confirmed infections and is nearing 240,000 deaths.
It is also unknown whether any additional pandemic financial relief will be passed in the lame duck session of Congress, with millions of people out of work.
Distribution of the Pfizer vaccine and some others will require cold storage and two shots, which means many millions of doses. It will be a complex process.
Pfizer has a cold-storage facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In the US, the vaccines will be packed below dry ice inside thermal containers, flown to major distribution hubs with a GPS-tracked thermal sensor, and then delivered by ground transport.
Here, vulnerable people and frontline Covid workers would likely receive the vaccine first.
“The Pfizer vaccine . . . is part of a suite of vaccines we will be looking at. This is the first major step but there will be others,” Research Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said.
The coming arrival of a promisingly effective vaccine should be a spur for the Government to work towards a more flexible border strategy.
We are still a long way from dramatic change, but a vaccine should be an important tool to allow some international travel, in combination with other measures.