The U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago issued a statement on its official Twitter on the evening of the 13th local time, saying, “The U.S. government has donated 80 bottles of Pfizer’s new crown vaccine to the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The U.S. is committed to Help the Trinidad and Tobago government to carry out vaccination work.” According to previous reports in the US media, a bottle of Pfizer’s new crown vaccine contains 5 or 6 doses of vaccine. In other words, 80 vials of vaccine are only equivalent to more than 400 doses of vaccine. According to the one-person two-dose vaccination process, only enough to vaccinate more than 200 people. Perhaps the U.S. Embassy itself realized the ridiculousness of “80 bottles”, and deliberately added at the end of the statement, “We believe that every dose of vaccine is important.”

This donation statement was quickly spread on Twitter and received a lot of criticism and ridicule comments. Netizens from various countries were surprised that the US embassy announced the number of “80 bottles” of donations.

@Snigdha100%vaxxed#GetYoVax: 80 bottles? How many people can this bring continuous protection? Because it seems to me nothing to show off.

@Got My Moderna Workin”: For a country with more than 1 million people, 80 doses (bottles) are an insult.

@funkdrugmokey: They (the US government) must open a box of vaccines, count 80 bottles (or 115 bottles) from it, and then put the other vaccines back into the cold storage. incredible.

@Mohammad: This statement has almost as many words as the number of vaccines to be donated.

@MaryAnn Johanson: This is a shameful and meaningless gesture. You (the United States) should keep it secret, not hype.

Some comments also questioned that the United States had previously announced the distribution of 80 million doses of the new crown vaccine to the world by the end of June, and US President Biden just announced that it would donate 500 million doses of vaccines. Are these vaccines just verbal, in reality? Is it only 80 bottles? According to the local media Trinidad Daily Express, the country’s Minister of National Security Hinders explained that the 80 vials of vaccines announced by the United States have nothing to do with “any large-scale donations that we anticipate that the United States is considering”. Vaccines are “just a small batch of gifts received by the Ministry of National Security.”

While the message was almost overwhelmingly criticizing the U.S. government, some Trinidad and Tobago netizens were also sharing another piece of news: The first batch of 200,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine purchased by the country will be delivered on the 14th local time and will arrive in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.

On the 13th local time, Chinese Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Fang Qiu announced the above news on his official Twitter and Facebook. “I am very happy to announce this latest development. The 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine purchased by the Trinidad and Tobago government are on their way to Port of Spain! I am very happy to be invited to welcome the second batch of Sinopharm vaccine at the airport tomorrow!” Local media also reported that the government of Trinidad and Tobago has also ordered more new crown vaccines from China, which will be delivered in the future.

Below this news, many Trinidad and Tobago netizens expressed their thanks.

@Dina GoonLun: I am very happy to learn that the (China) vaccine is already on the way. Very grateful. Time is of the essence. There is a real friendship between China and Trinidad and Tobago. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.

@Ricardo Paul: Well done, Mr. Ambassador.

@Barry Kanchan: We are very grateful. Please send in as many vaccines as possible.

According to the news published on the official website of the Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, on May 19, a batch of China’s aid to Trinidad and Tobago arrived in Port of Spain. Many local people referred to the Chinese vaccine as “timely rain”. According to media reports, this is the largest vaccine aid that Triumph has received so far. According to the “Global Times” reporter, this batch of Sinopharm vaccines will be launched in Trinidad and Tobago nationwide on May 21. Many local government officials and parliamentarians have all been vaccinated against Sinopharm. The country’s Senator Laurel Resama shared the process of vaccination in China via Twitter. “It only takes 15 seconds! The whole process went smoothly and well organized.”

Trinidad and Tobago media reports on Sinopharm vaccination status

The comparison between 80 bottles in the United States and hundreds of thousands of doses in China has already been seen by Trinidad and Tobago people, but Shanter Moore, the US Chargé d’affaires in Trinidad and Tobago, was still in an interview with local media recently. Selectively ignore the facts, while publicizing the promise of the United States to donate vaccines, while facing China’s slander.

Ambassador Fang Qiu commented on the interview on Twitter, saying, “This article is full of irony, and one can’t help asking, how many vaccines have they (the United States) delivered?” “Actions speak louder than words.” Ambassador Fang Qiu wrote.

Corona pandemic Pfizer trials vaccine on young children

As of: June 9th, 2021 8:38 pm

BioNTech and Pfizer also want their vaccine approved for children under 12 years of age. The first studies on this have already started. The product will soon also be tested on babies. From Antje Passenheim, ARD Studio New York BioNTech and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer are advancing the development of their Covid-19 vaccine for use in younger children. As Pfizer announced in New York, the group has expanded its clinical study to children under twelve years of age.

Admission already in October?

In the first tests, a small number of minors were given different doses of the vaccine. According to Pfizer, around 4,500 children between the ages of six months and eleven will now take part in studies in more than 90 facilities in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain. Tests on five to eleven year olds began this week. They receive either a placebo or two doses of ten micrograms each. This corresponds to a third of the dose that adolescents and adults receive. Pfizer expects to get US approval for five- to eleven-year-olds by October. In a few weeks, children aged six months and over will be brought in for a study. These should only receive three micrograms per vaccination. A short time later, the group wants to apply for approval for children up to five years of age.

Severe disease courses in children are rare

Pfizer sells the serum developed by BioNTech, a Mainz-based company. Since children are generally less likely to get seriously ill with Covid compared to adults, the group relies on a lower dose vaccination for younger children, which should also have fewer side effects. In the European Union, the USA and Canada, the vaccine is already approved for children from the age of twelve and is sometimes used. In the United States, nearly seven million teenagers have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to health officials.

All of these vaccines are allocated to priority subjects according to Resolution 21 and localities with industrial parks. Vaccines for COVID-19. Photo: Times of India. In addition, from now until the end of the third quarter, Vietnam will also receive an additional 2 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine ordered by the Ministry of Health through VNVC. In the third quarter, information from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer said that 3 million doses of vaccine can be shipped to Vietnam, the rest will be concentrated in the fourth quarter. However, the specific time and quantity may change due to dependents. of the world situation. According to Professor Dang Duc Anh, the COVID-19 vaccine has a very short shelf life, only about 6 months. Meanwhile, the time from the production facility to Vietnam takes about 2 months, so it only takes 3-4 months to deploy the injection. In particular, Pfizer’s vaccines must be stored at deep minus temperatures (-70 degrees Celsius). If the temperature is 2-8 degrees Celsius, this vaccine is only used for one month. Therefore, in the coming time, the Ministry of Health will coordinate with units of the Ministry of National Defense across the country to ensure the preservation and transportation of vaccines to the injection point in the shortest time. Up to this point, Vietnam has urgently approved four COVID-19 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm and Pfizer. Vietnam aims to have 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine this year for at least 70-80% of the population, to form herd immunity. However, only 4 batches of AstraZeneca’s vaccine have arrived in Vietnam with a total of nearly 2.9 million doses. Earlier, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long stated that Vietnam is facing the 4th wave of COVID-19 epidemic with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 capable of spreading quickly and widely. The Vietnamese government is drastically directing epidemic prevention and control measures to soon stabilize the situation. One of Vietnam’s priorities in COVID-19 prevention is to have a COVID-19 vaccine early and to implement broader vaccination coverage for the population. Therefore, in parallel with efforts to find, negotiate and discuss with partners and vaccine manufacturers to bring vaccines to Vietnam, the Ministry of Health and related ministries and branches also focus on developing domestic vaccines to gradually ensure vaccine autonomy. At the same time, Vietnam also participates in COVAX’s global vaccine supply mechanism.

A man is vaccinated with AstraZeneca in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 15. Photo: AP The results showed that only 166 cases required hospitalization. Those who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 92% effective without requiring hospitalization, while those who received the Pfizer vaccine, the figure was 94% after dose 1 and 96% after dose 2. “These findings suggest that the level of protection of people with Delta variant from hospitalization is very high. Understanding this is important in assessing the danger that Delta variant poses to the general population.” , the study authors concluded. “The effect of not requiring hospitalization because the Delta variant after one injection of AstraZeneca is 71% and after two injections is 92%. This metric really reassures India. To choose the direction, I think we should should use modeling approaches to devise different implementation strategies and compare the impact of vaccines at each stage of the epidemic,” commented Professor of Microbiology Gagandeep Kang of India. The Delta variant first appeared in India and has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while the World Health Organization (WHO) has called it a “variant of concern”. it is a ‘disturbing variation’. The Delta variant is expected to become a common strain in the US next fall, increasing the risk of a new wave of disease in unvaccinated people later this year.

“I have a strategy and I will publish it.” Biden said when asked about the vaccine strategy for the world before boarding Air Force One to fly to the UK for the G-7 summit. The US will donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the world. (Photo: CNN) Sheet The Times said Mr Biden would appear alongside Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to make the announcement. According to the AP , of these 500 million doses, 200 million doses will be shared this year. The rest will be donated in early 2022. Washington Post was the first newspaper to publish this information. Many newspapers later cited sources confirming the above information. The US is facing increasing pressure to draw up a plan to share vaccines with the world as its vaccine campaign is inching towards the finish line. Last week, the White House announced plans to allocate the first 25 million doses of the vaccine, with 19 million going to COVAX and 6 million to current COVID-19 hotspots including India. These vaccines are among the 80 million doses of vaccines the US has pledged to share with the world this month.

Indonesian health experts are concerned about the risk of an increase in the number of new cases, due to variants of Covid-19 and a large number of people traveling between many areas after Ramadan. Indonesian health workers vaccinate people. Photo: Reuters In another development, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on June 9 that the government’s goal in July is to reach the milestone of 1 million doses of vaccination per day. “I want the vaccination of the population to reach 700,000 doses a day this month, and continue to increase. By July 2021, we can reach our goal of 1 million doses per day,” he said. US announced to donate 500 million doses of vaccine USA Today news agency today (June 10) said that the administration of US President Joe Biden will announce a plan to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to more than 90 countries over the next two years. A senior US official said Biden will announce his plan to donate the vaccines at the G7 summit in the UK this week. The vaccines will be distributed through COVAX, to help deliver them to more low-income countries. Earlier this month, Mr. Biden pledged to share about 7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Asian countries and territories such as India, Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh and Vietnam. .. Russia strengthens epidemic prevention in the capital The authorities of Moscow, Russia said they will continue to strengthen disease prevention and control such as requiring people to wear medical masks and gloves in public spaces such as restaurants and bars amid the number of infections in the country. This city has recently grown strongly. Channel News Asia quoted data from the Russian Ministry of Health on June 9, saying that in the past 24 hours, the country recorded an additional 10,407 infections. In particular, in Moscow, the authorities have recorded 4,142 new infections, the highest level since mid-January. “The epidemic situation is getting worse in Moscow due to the increasing number of infections,” said official Yevgeny Danchikov. China approves 7th vaccine According to the Global Times on June 9, China approved the 7th Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine was developed by the Biomedical Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Kunming City, China. Yunnan province, southwestern China. According to China’s Science and Technology Daily, phase 1 and 2 clinical trials have shown that the vaccine is effective, which can quickly induce an immune response in the injected person’s body. On the same day, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said that more than 808 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been distributed across China as of June 8. Some other developments on the epidemic Updated at 5 am on June 10 of the Worldometers statistics page, the Covid-19 epidemic is raging in 220 countries and territories, infecting more than 175.1 million people and claiming the lives of more than 3, 7 million patients. The number of recoveries reached over 158.9 million cases. India continues to experience a terrible day with the number of new infections reaching more than 93,900 and the death toll over 6,100. So far, the country has a total of 29.1 million positive cases and more than 359,000 deaths. Brazil also faces serious contagion and death when it records 84,600 new infections to the list of more than 17.1 million patients, and more than 2,200 victims to a total of 479,500 deaths from Covid-19. Tuan Tran

Governments, medical experts and researchers are working to find the most effective strategies to deploy Covid-19 vaccination to quickly create herd immunity as the pandemic continues to sweep the world. limited supply of vaccines. According to the journal Nature, the world needs about 11 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine to immunize 70% of the world’s population, in case each person must receive two doses. However, the latest statistics of Bloomberg news show that, as of June 2, a total of more than 1.94 billion doses have been injected across 176 countries, equivalent to nearly 12.7% of the global population. required to be fully immunized. The situation of Covid-19 vaccination worldwide in terms of vaccination rate for the whole population (%). Graphics: Bloomberg In addition, there is inequality in vaccine distribution, with rich countries, which account for only 19% of the world’s population, capturing more than 50% of the full year’s supply while low- and middle-income countries, accounting for more than 50% of the total supply. More than 80% of the world’s population has access to less than a third of the vaccines shipped, exacerbating the problem. A conundrum now is how humanity can overcome the pandemic at the earliest when it is estimated that the total number of vaccines produced and distributed in the world in 2021 is only about 6 billion doses. more than 55% of the forecast demand mentioned above? Countries that have received the highest number of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the world as of June 2. Source: Bloomberg Classification of priority groups for vaccination In order to optimize the mass vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 virus in the current difficult conditions, most governments have decided to prioritize pre-vaccination for groups at high risk of infection with the virus. such as frontline medical staff, forces directly in charge of fighting the epidemic, people over 65 years old, people with chronic diseases or workers in the group providing essential services. In addition to the above approach, governments and scientists are also trying other solutions to achieve the most effective vaccination strategy possible while waiting for vaccine manufacturers to increase production and abundant supplies. more abundant. Experimental mixing of vaccines Some countries have recently considered mixing different vaccines to address shortages and delays in supply. The idea is not new, as scientists have been experimenting with this approach for decades against Ebola and HIV viruses. In the UK, scientists have decided to expand the study in the use of combinations of Covid-19 vaccines to assess whether mixing them is safe and helps prolong immunity in vaccinated people. strains or not. In February 2021, Oxford University began promoting a study called Com-Cov, whereby volunteers will be vaccinated with the first and second doses of two vaccines AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech. Preliminary research results, published in the Lancet medical journal in mid-May, revealed that mixing the two vaccines would increase the side effects of the vaccine, such as fatigue and headaches over time. short and in light form. Photo: Healthmag “It’s a finding that we didn’t anticipate. We still don’t know if this approach is associated with an improved immune response. We’ll find that out in a few weeks.” “, Professor Matthew Snape, who led the study, said on May 14. Snape and his colleagues also recently added Moderna and Novavax vaccines to the trial program. The authors hope that, if their study can demonstrate that the mixed vaccination produces an immune response as well as the standard vaccination and does not significantly increase the response to the vaccine, there will be more people complete their immunization plans sooner. This will also assist the health system in responding in the event of a shortage of any currently used vaccines. Similarly, the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on May 24 also announced that it would start a study on mixing China’s Sinovac vaccine with other vaccines available in the country such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer/ BioNTech and Sputnik from June this year to November 2022. DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Pena explained that Sinovac was the main target of the study because it is the most stable supply in the Philippines, accounting for 5.5 million doses out of the approximately 8.3 million doses the country has received for until now. Manila is aiming to have vaccinated more than half of its 110 million population by this year. However, according to Nikkei Asia, the nationwide vaccination campaign is facing many challenges when people focus on injecting only “branded” vaccines such as Pfizer, forcing many local governments to keep the name of the vaccine secret. Please be used in vaccinations. More spacing between injections In accordance with the regimen and recommendations of the vaccine manufacturers against Covid-19, after giving the first dose to the patient, after 3-4 weeks, medical facilities will inject the second dose (21 days apart for patients). with Pfizer vaccine and 28 days with AstraZeneca vaccine). However, the British government has decided to extend the interval between the two shots to 12 weeks to have enough vaccine to vaccinate more people. This decision caused a lot of controversy. However, British medical advisers explain, because most vaccines are proven to be more than 50% effective after the first shot, doing so will help increase immunity for more people against dangerous pathogens and help speed up the national immunization campaign. The number of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 is falling sharply in the UK. Graphics: Reuters There are no formal studies on the effectiveness of the initiative yet. However, there is an undeniable fact that the foggy country is sharply reducing the number of cases and deaths from Covid-19, allowing the country to start easing restrictive measures against the epidemic from 12/02. 4 and aims to get the country out of lockdown this summer. Vaccination for people 12 years of age and older The European Commission has approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children 12 years of age and older, European Union (EU) Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides announced on May 31. , giving the bloc’s member countries the option to expand their vaccination programmes. On the same day, the Japanese Government also announced a similar decision. The move took place not long after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 10 approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12-15. Previously, the product was only approved by the FDA. emergency use permission for persons 16 years of age and older. President Joe Biden called the FDA’s new step a promising development in the fight against the epidemic. Before the US, Canada on May 5 became the first country in the world to agree to expand the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine recipients to children 12 years of age and older, citing more benefits. risk. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that developed countries suspend the implementation of immunization for adolescents in order to share the surplus vaccine resources with poorer countries that have a shortage of vaccination supplies for children. older, high-risk groups. “The pandemic has proven that no one is safe until everyone is safe. Equal access to a Covid-19 vaccine is within our grasp. The sooner we do it, the better. The faster our lives and our children’s lives return to normal,” emphasized Ms. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.

(Source: Getty Images) National Advisory Committee on Immunity of Canada (NACI) on June 1 announced updated guidelines allowing the combination of preventive vaccines COVID-19 licensed in the country in most cases. Under the new guidelines, people who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine can receive a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, unless they are pregnant. So far, Canada has allowed the use of 4 types vaccine against COVID-19 of pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The new guidelines also say that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be used in combination for both the first and second shots. However, the NACI does not recommend a second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine following the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for safety reasons and limited data on the use of this combination. Speaking at a press conference on June 1, Canada’s public health official Theresa Tam said, “NACI is working to quickly adopt new guidelines for vaccine use in the country to ensure optimal protection of people in the context of the changing epidemic situation.” Tam also added that although according to the new NACI recommendation that vaccines can be safely used in combination, people should use the same vaccine for two injections if possible, especially Pfizer’s vaccine. or Moderna. According to Ms. Tam, the use of vaccine combinations is not a new concept and has long been applied by public health to many vaccines. The updated NACI guidelines are based on current studies from Spain and the UK that show the combination of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines to be safe and effective against COVID-19. As of the afternoon of June 1, 2021, 21,942,111 Canadians, equivalent to 57.75% of the country’s population, received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 2,144,126 people, equivalent to 5.64%, second injection. The disease situation in the North American country is also continuing to decline with the number of new cases per day in the last 7 days being below 2,700 cases, the average death per day decreased to 39 cases. As of the afternoon of June 1, Canada recorded 1,248 new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,382,822, of which 25,565 people have died. On the same day, according to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Buenos Aires, an adviser to Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, Cecilia Nicolini, said that she is considering the possibility of cooperating with Cuba to produce a vaccine against COVID-19 researched and manufactured by Cuba in order to prevent COVID-19 infection. distributed to the Latin American market. In an interview with Sputnik news agency, Ms. Nicolini announced that during the recent visit to Cuba by the Minister of Health Carla Vizzotti, the Argentine side was introduced to the progress in the process of research and development of vaccines. COVID-19 of Cuba, and affirmed Argentina’s desire to cooperate in the production of this drug so that it can meet the actual demand as soon as possible, not only in Cuba and Argentina but also in other countries in the world. area. Currently, Cuba has 5 candidates for COVID-19 vaccine, namely Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Soberana Plus, Mambisa and Abdala with very positive prospects, in which candidates Soberana 02 and Abdala have successfully finished the phase. clinical trials 1 and 2 with high rates of safety and efficacy. According to Nicolini, in the coming days, the Cuban side will present data analysis of the third phase of testing of these two vaccines and the two sides will conduct negotiations on the possibility of mass production. Currently La Soberana 02 and Abdala are the only two COVID-19 vaccines researched by a Latin American country that have entered the final phase of clinical trials.

The tour is organized in the form of Free & Easy, including airline tickets to the US and hotel rooms of 3 stars or more standard; Covid-19 test fee before entering the US; visa fees to the US; Travel insurance and guides support registration, procedures for vaccination against Covid-19 vaccine in the US. The price offered is 44.99 million VND/pax for the 8 day 7 night tour. This is the first travel agency in Vietnam to organize a tour to the US to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Other companies are also listening to the situation to organize similar tours. Some travel companies in Vietnam are also considering and learning about US tours to vaccinate Previously, in the region, some Thai travel companies also offered vaccination tours in the US. Specifically, the company My Journey Travel offers a package “Covid-19 vaccine tour”, a 10-day flight to California (USA). With a cost of 2,400 USD/person (about 55 million VND, excluding airfare), so far, more than 200 people have booked. Prices above include a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. Another company, Unithai Trip in Bangkok (Thailand), also launched tour packages from 75,000 baht to 200,000 baht ($2,400 to $6,400, equivalent to 55 to 147 million dong) for flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles. and New York. According to the VNA, tourists from other countries are flocking to the US to combine tourism with vaccination. To date, tens of thousands of tourists from Mexico and some other countries have flown to Texas and Florida to get vaccinated. Or, thousands of wealthy tourists, including politicians, TV stars, leaders of companies and corporations in Latin America, have come to America to get vaccinated. Some chartered private planes to go to the US. Therefore, organizing tours combined with vaccination is a business opportunity for tour operators. Vaccination demand soars Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in PLO newspaper, said that it is normal to go abroad with Vietnamese tourists, not banned. As for entry, they must comply with regulations in the context of the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic. According to some companies and travel experts, the above price of 44.99 million VND is only suitable for those with conditions, because that price does not include food, travel, and personal expenses at the hotel. America. Not to mention, depending on the vaccine, you have to wait for the second shot. With the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, only one dose is needed, but if you want to get the Pfizer vaccine, you have to wait 20 days to get the second shot. After completing the injection, when returning to Vietnam, the tourist is still quarantined for 21 days at an isolation facility and then monitored for 7 days at home according to current entry regulations of the Health sector and the authorities. Thus, a complete trip with vaccinations in the US to be able to contact the community takes from 1 and a half to nearly 2 months, not to mention the cost of isolation when returning home. Bao An

According to the latest study on the Covid-19 vaccine of Pfizer/BioNTech, conducted by Director of the French Pasteur Institute Olivier Schwartz and colleagues, the company’s vaccine shows signs of being less effective before the B.1.617 strain from India, n , but can still protect the vaccinated person from this strain. Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is one of the fastest to make yet. Behind that breakthrough in speed is 30 years of research and development by a Turkish-born doctor couple. Before the pandemic broke out, Dr. Ugur Sahin spent years researching mRNA, a type of gene-guided technology that could be implanted in the body to help it fight viruses and other threats. In January 2020, a few days before the coronavirus was first diagnosed in Europe, he used this knowledge to design a version of the vaccine on his home computer. Doctor couple Ugur Sahin (left) and Özlem Türeci (right). Photo: BBC. The idea of ​​pregnancy 30 years ago The story of the first Covid-19 vaccine licensed in the West began 30 years ago in a rural area of ​​Germany. Two young doctors, children of Turkish immigrants, fall in love, vowing to jointly invent a new treatment for cancer. Dr Sahin was born in the city of Iskenderun, Turkey. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Cologne, Germany. There, his parents worked in a Ford factory. Dr. Türeci’s father, a surgeon, also came to Germany around the same time to work at a Catholic hospital in the town. Sahin and Türeci say that when they were young, it was their frustration with the plight of cancer patients that motivated them to study mRNA. “We realized that with standard therapy, very quickly we wouldn’t be able to do anything more to help the patient,” they said. The two then began researching new treatments based on programming the body’s immune system to defeat cancer as an infectious disease. In 2001, the two founded Ganymed Pharmaceuticals GmbH, their first company to develop antibody treatments. “Our motivation is to bridge the gap between science and life. As we research, we see solutions that were not possible before for our patients,” said Dr. Türeci. One day in 2002, Sahin and Türeci left the lab during their lunch break and went to the marriage registration office, where they became officially husband and wife. Photo: The Wall Street Journal. In 2008, the couple founded BioNTech to expand their research from antibody treatments to mRNA. Since Ganymed Company was sold for $1.4 billion in 2016, BioNTech has been their sole focus. All executives at BioNTech are scientists, including the chief financial officer and salesperson. Half of BioNTech’s staff are women, including scientists of 60 different nationalities. Speed ​​of light One Saturday, January 7, 2020, after reading a research paper, Dr. Sahin was sure that the disease little known in China would soon engulf the world. Immediately, he began designing 10 potential vaccines against the disease, one of which later became the vaccine that now dominates vaccination campaigns in the European Union (EU) and the US. That same day, he announced that BioNTech would redirect research to combat a virus that had yet to be named and diagnosed in Europe. Mr. Jeggle, who has worked with Dr. Sahin since 2001, recalls: “To say I was surprised is an understatement. Because really, the company didn’t have much capital at that time and we were focusing on cancer research.” Project Lightspeed, as Dr. Sahin calls it, will develop a vaccine in months, not years as is usual. Handshake between two big men BioNTech previously worked with Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical corporation, to develop an influenza vaccine based on mRNA technology. So when Dr. Sahin needed a partner to organize the testing, production and global distribution of vaccines, he knew who to turn to. In March 2020, the two companies signed a cooperation agreement. A month later, the first human trials of the vaccine began. Vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech were subsequently licensed for use in the UK, US and other European countries, respectively, with high efficacy confirmed in many countries. According to the latest financial report, Pfizer predicts vaccine sales will reach $26 billion in 2021. However, Dr. Sahin said that any profits made will be reinvested. He affirmed that the goal of BioNTech has not changed: Bringing cancer treatment regimens based on mRNA and other innovative methods to the market. Sold commercially under the name Comirnaty, Pfizer’s vaccine is 90-95% effective in many countries. Storage and transportation conditions were once major obstacles for Pfizer’s vaccines. This affects the distribution of vaccines and the accessibility of the people, because not all countries or localities have super cold storage available. Even advanced countries like the United States and Europe find this difficult at first. Under pressure from drug regulators in many countries (and the need to expand the market ahead of competitors), Pfizer increased the temperature and storage time of Comirnaty. Accordingly, an unthawed vial of Comirnaty can be stored at 2ºC to 8ºC for 5 days to a month. Epidemic prospect Recently, Dr. Sahin predicted that the epidemic situation will continue to spread until mid-2022 due to the outbreak in India and the continued scarcity of vaccines. The father of the vaccine Comirnaty advised that governments should consider using a combination of different vaccine manufacturers. He asserted that the pandemic will not end until herd immunity is achieved worldwide. Dr Sahin and Türeci also say they are expanding their manufacturing alliance to include more than 30 companies to produce more vaccines and deliver them to countries like India. In Vietnam, on May 18, the Ministry of Health signed a contract with Pfizer Company to buy 31 million doses of the vaccine, which is expected to be provided in the third and fourth quarters of 2021. Four former US presidents join the Covid-19 vaccine campaign Former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama together appeared in a media campaign to urge Americans to get vaccinated.

Kariko Katalin. Photo: Euronews What is mRNA technology? Vaccines with mRNA technology are Covid-19 vaccine most awaited. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pioneered and quickly approved this vaccine. Compared with traditional technology, mRNA promises to be more effective, faster, safer, with fewer side effects; can compare the difference like a motorbike and a jet. The concept of mRNA was learned in 9th grade, biology lectures taught that mRNA has the function of conveying information that regulates the structure of proteins. Letter m = messenger = information. To make it easy to understand, the process of synthesizing each protein in the human body is like solving a complex math problem, mRNA becomes a manual of mathematical formulas. If humans can create a vaccine in the form of artificial mRNA, when injected into the body, the mRNA will disguise itself as a “thief” that sneaks in but does not wake up the “host”, it silently builds a defense system. are antibody proteins, so that when the virus attacks, it will be destroyed by that system. mRNA urges, haunts Kariko Katalin Kariko Katalin is obsessed with mRNA, she understands this is a very special type of RNA that holds all the secrets to creating billions of billions of proteins in the human body. Theoretically, science can completely manipulate mRNA to create a targeted protein, doing that, mRNA becomes the most powerful weapon to control a variety of diseases. But that’s just a theory. Understanding of mRNA in the 1980s was still very limited. In principle, when injecting mRNA into the human body, it is an allergen, so the body’s defense system will immediately destroy it before the mRNA can perform its functions. That is, the mRNA vaccine, no matter how cleverly disguised, is still a “thief”. But what is more serious, is that the human body’s instinctive resistance to the “thief” is too strong, creating a severe immune response that is potentially fatal. After a lot of failures, most scientists gave up, no one cares about mRNA anymore, that knowledge is scattered on the pages of 9th and 10th grade biology textbooks, so that students can take exams with these questions. boring question. Kariko Katalin was undaunted and continued to dive into research. All efforts paid off when Katalin’s work attracted the attention of two young companies Moderna (Canada) and BioNTech (Germany), after which the giant Pfizer (USA) decided to invest in the production of Covid vaccines. -19 by mRNA technology. That is like winning a ticket to Mars. mRNA technology will not stop at vaccine production, but in the not too distant future, a series of “diseases” such as cancer, stroke, or other dangerous diseases also promise to be “cleared”. The floating life of Kariko Katalin Kariko Katalin was born on January 17, 1955 in Szolnok (Hungary), in a cottage without amenities, but full of love for a family home. Kariko Katalin inherited a gene for biology from her father, a pork salesman, a gene for research perseverance from her mother, an accountant, and was inspired by her passion for biology from the teachers at the school she attended. study. Due to poverty, Kariko Katalin devoted herself to her university years, winning a scholarship to the People’s Republic of Hungary, the most prestigious scholarship at that time. Katalin went on to study for a doctorate, then worked at the biological research center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Szeged. Kariko Katalin pursues mRNA technology. It is an area that requires a lot of investment. Hungary in the 1980s was the most liberal and open country in the former Soviet bloc, but it also didn’t have the money to fund major research. Kariko Katalin lost her job at the age of 30. She initially looked for a job in the European Union, but nowhere would accept it, because Katalin had no significant scientific achievements. One afternoon in 1985, Kariko Katalin and her husband took their 2-year-old daughter out of Hungary to find her way to America. The only asset of any value is the old car, which sold for £900 on the black market. To make it through, Kariko Katalin had to cut open her daughter’s toy teddy bear, insert £900, and then sew it back up. Initially in the US, Kariko Katalin was accepted to work at Temple University, but soon her group was disbanded because of lack of funding. In 1989, Kariko Katalin joined the faculty of pharmacy at the University of Pennsylvania. Although she is a full professor, this is the most difficult time, the salary is very low and no one believes her. Things took a turn for the worse in 1995, Kariko couldn’t get funding, couldn’t find a project, and the University of Pennsylvania decided to fire her. It was a horrible time. The room Kariko Katalin lived in was leaking in every evening rain. She has just been diagnosed with cancer while her husband is in Hungary and cannot come to the US because of visa problems. How much time and dedication work seems to be slipping out of hand. “I started to suspect that maybe I wasn’t good, I wasn’t smart. I try to tell myself that everything is here, I just need to do better experiments,” said Kariko Katalin. Turning point In 1998, Kariko Katalin finally received the first $100,000 grant. Strangely enough, that year she also met a man of her life. It was that fateful afternoon, Kariko Katalin went to photocopy documents, she met Drew Weissmen, a colleague who had just moved from the National Institutes of Health. In the meantime, Kariko Katalin told Weissmen about the idea of ​​creating mRNA. Immediately Weissmen saw before his eyes a priceless fortune. Weissmen decided to invest, collaborate with Kariko Katalin, determined to develop mRNA technology in the field of biomedicine. In 2005, the attenuated version of mRNA was released. After reading the study, Derrick Rossi, a Canadian stem cell expert who is doing a PhD student at Stanford University, was amazed. The time has come. Realizing a super profitable business opportunity, Rossi quietly sought investment capital, he founded a small company, named Moderna. In Germany, a new research team also discovered the potential of Kariko Katalin, a new company BioNTech was founded, based in the US. In 2013, BioNTech hired Karko Katalin as a senior mRNA specialist. Moderna and BioNTech did not do much until 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Moderna promoted the production of vaccines by mRNA technology, adding the company BioNTech invested by Pfizer billions of dollars determined to turn their ideas into Kariko Katalin come true.

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine vial. Photo: Reuters. The European Commission, on May 28, approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech for children 12 years of age and older, paving the way for the implementation of vaccinations for children of all ages. widely within the bloc, after similar decisions were made by the US and Canada. The decision came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) advocated the use of the vaccine in children aged 12 to 15 years earlier. This vaccine has been used in the European Union for people 16 years of age and older. For the 12-15 age group, the two doses of the vaccine are also given at least three weeks apart, as with adults, the EMA said. According to the EMA, each EU country will decide whether and when to provide the vaccine to adolescents. While awaiting the decision of the EMA, on May 27, Germany outlined a plan to provide vaccines for children from 12 years old from June 7. Italy also said that it is preparing to expand its Covid-19 vaccination campaign to people over 12 years old. Immunizing children and adolescents is seen as an important step towards achieving “herd immunity” and taming the pandemic. On May 28, Japan also joined other countries that decided to give the Pfizer vaccine to children as young as 12 years old. Since March, Pfizer and Biontech have released trial data showing that their Covid-19 vaccine is 100% effective in protecting against infectious disease in a trial of 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. .

People wait to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Tokyo, Japan on May 24, 2021. Photo: AFP/VNA According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Tokyo, speaking at a press conference after announcing the extension of the state of emergency for nine provinces on May 28, Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide emphasized his determination to deploy COVID-19 vaccine vaccination for people under 65 years of age, including those with underlying medical conditions, starting at the end of next month. Regarding vaccine supply, Prime Minister Suga affirmed that the government will ensure the necessary amount of vaccine for the vaccination campaign with 100 million doses expected to arrive in Japan by the end of June and another 100 million doses to be added. September. The specific vaccination time of each locality will be decided on the basis of the positive results of vaccination for people over 65 years old, and the location can also be expanded to implement in the workplace. jobs or universities. Prime Minister Suga said the Japanese government will do its best to soon return to normal life for the people with efforts to speed up the pace of COVID-19 vaccination. Currently, the vaccination rate is around 400,000-500,000 times/day, but from June it will be increased to 1 million times/day. Japan started the COVID-19 vaccine vaccination campaign in February, basically giving enough shots for medical staff who are the frontline force against the epidemic. With the operation of two large-scale vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka from May 24, as well as positive results from the negotiation to buy vaccines, the Japanese government is expected to be able to vaccinate the entire population. the entire population from the end of June, 1 month earlier than originally planned. In addition, children will also be included in vaccination after the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has licensed Pfizer’s vaccine to expand the vaccination age from 12-15 years old. . Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company Modena has also submitted clinical data to the MHLW and may be approved for injections in subjects 12 years of age and older next month.

COVAX-19 mechanism. (Artwork: ABC News) In 2020, the Mechanism of “Global Access to Vaccines Against Covid-19” (COVAX for short) was established to help all countries have the opportunity to have quick, equitable and equal access to vaccines. prevent Covid-19. However, the goals of the above initiative are being “missed” due to lack of capital and selfishness of some developed countries. Launched in 2020, COVAX aims to buy two billion doses of vaccine to distribute to countries supporting the fight against Covid-19 before the end of 2021. However, the above ambitious plan is at risk of bankruptcy when Statistics show that, so far, only 68 million doses of vaccine from COVAX have been delivered, reaching 3.4% of the plan. Meanwhile, by the end of May 2021, there were 1.5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine distributed worldwide, but only about 0.3% of them reached countries with low income. low input. World health experts point out that the disappointing results mentioned above are not due to the lack of efforts by the people in charge of the COVAX program of the World Health Organization (WHO), but mainly due to a lack of funding. There is a shortage of vaccine supplies, and rich countries are unwilling to share vaccines with poor countries. COVAX is intended to be a not-for-profit financial attraction structure. Accordingly, rich countries contribute financially to research many different vaccines at the same time to find some effective vaccines, and then provide them for free to 92 low-income countries who cannot afford to buy them. vaccine against Covid-19. For this mechanism to work, there needs to be enough rich countries to invest and commit to receive vaccines through COVAX. However, in reality, this initiative did not receive the necessary funds to support research and purchase the vaccine in the early stages. Even, many rich countries have signed contracts to buy vaccines individually with manufacturers such as Pfizer, Moderna, delaying the implementation of contracts for large-scale production of vaccines in 2021 under the COVAX mechanism. A major problem hindering COVAX’s vaccine supply efforts is the tight supply of vaccines. Part of the reason for this is the serious epidemic situation in India. The main vaccine supplier for COVAX is the Serum Institute of India, which is producing the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, with the outbreak of the disease, the planned supply of vaccine for COVAX had to be diverted to serve India’s domestic demand. WHO and the Global Vaccine Alliance Gavi, representing the organizations initiating the COVAX Mechanism, have just issued a statement stating that an additional $2 billion is needed to increase the coverage of immunization programs to nearly 30 million. %. To secure vaccine delivery this year and early 2022, COVAX needs the above amount before June 2 to close the supply. According to the original target, COVAX is expected to provide two billion doses of vaccine to countries in 2021 and 1.8 billion doses in early 2022. “Financial bottlenecks” are hindering goals and efforts COVAX’s vaccine delivery force. COVAX initiative managers also warn that, if the current emergency shortage of a Covid-19 vaccine is not addressed, “the consequences could be dire.” The above fact shows that COVAX’s “vaccine for everyone” and “leave no country behind” plan are being delayed. This is not only a problem of COVAX founders and managers, but a big global problem. Because, variants of this virus and new waves of epidemics can enter and re-emerge in developed countries at any time. The only way for humanity to win the current pandemic together is for governments and people of countries, especially developed countries, to share difficulties, distribute vaccines appropriately, and join hands to fight Covid-19.

The effectiveness of the vaccine so far cannot be denied. The United States, although not widely open to the world, has dragged down its number of infections in just the past few months. Based on data collected during vaccination, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that the effectiveness of major vaccines such as Pfizer or Moderna is up to 95%. even with new variants. This makes it possible for American people to comfortably go out without having to wear a mask, while the US Government considers lifting the ban on international movement. Similar effects have also been observed in Israel and Europe, where vaccination rates have reached 60% – that is, herd immunity can be generated. The “miracle” that brought life back to its normal rhythm seemed to be at last. Small doses of vaccines are becoming the hope of the whole world in the fight against COVID. However, at the same time, a new wave of infections broke out in India. Since mid-April, an additional 5 million new infections have been recorded in this South Asian country. The number of new infections continuously reached approximately 300 thousand cases per day, of which several thousand people died from the disease every day. The epidemic tsunami was so great that it knocked down India’s health system in just a few days, a real disaster. It is hard to believe, until the 4th wave of infections broke out, India was the country with the 3rd highest number of COVID vaccines in the world and was a hope for the whole world thanks to its huge vaccine supply. However, the number of nearly 100 million doses of vaccine administered out of a population of 1.3 billion is still too small to achieve a state of herd immunity, as epidemiologists hope. The government’s subjectivity then caused the contagion to erupt violently at a time when major religious ceremonies were held in this huge country. Consequences for the people and country of India so far have not been fully enumerated, but more dangerous, it is slowing down the whole world’s efforts to open up, when the supply of vaccines is mainly for people. Poor countries under the WHO COVAX program have stalled, because India has urgently applied a ban on vaccine exports to save itself first. In addition, the fourth wave of infections has also begun to spread around the world, from Asia, Africa to South America, where vaccination rates are far from reaching the thresholds that can create health problems. herd immunity. No one can stand alone The Indians cannot be blamed for the decision to close the vaccine supply at this time, because indeed the images and death figures every day in the newspaper make anyone horrified. Before that, it was India that took the lead in efforts to help the poorer people to have access to 66 million doses of vaccine in the first quarter of this year. Now that responsibility needs to be reinforced. In contrast, the US, UK, EU and Israel have come up with plans to reopen. Learning from India’s mistakes, these countries have been more cautious. From May 23, tourists can return to Israel and the EU if they comply with the mandatory conditions. The problem is that if that rule is followed, there are not many qualified guests. Because, in addition to having received the correct vaccines recognized by the EU, that traveler must also be from countries with the number of new infections below 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous 14 days. Those are the countries that the EU calls “safe”. However, there are currently only 7 countries outside the EU that meet this criterion, such as Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, etc., but that list does not include the US. That is, the invitation to travel to Europe is still only “give it up”. The door was opened but very few people could enter. The “Indian lesson” makes us realize that vaccination speed will determine the success or failure of a global vaccine strategy. As the United States and Israel quickly immunized the majority of the population, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was easily defeated. But, the drip vaccination rate will not be enough to create herd immunity and even allow the virus to mutate against the same old vaccines. Finding a vaccine for the poor is never easy. The fourth wave of contagion, therefore, has broken out in these very countries, with new variants that are more dangerous and could completely hit countries that already have high vaccination rates. Therefore, in order to solve the problem at the root, it is the rich countries that will have to take the lead in a new effort, to rescue the worldwide shortage of vaccines. Conflicts of interest A group of 13 countries has been identified by the World Bank (WB) as holding control and global distribution of vaccines. Among these, there are of course big countries like India, China, Russia, the G7 group and a few other European countries like Austria, Switzerland, Sweden. They are collectively known with a beautiful name, “The Club of Vaccine Producing Countries”. This club controls up to 88% of vaccines and 91% of vaccine companies in the world. Among them, mainly developed countries in the West. It is not surprising that the US and EU have achieved the highest vaccination rates in the world in a short time. Despite earlier claims to share vaccines with the world, “vaccine nationalism” prevailed initially. They have even started to have an oversupply of vaccine in their inventory after the last 3 months of intense vaccination. Therefore, when making the call for the rescue of vaccines in the world, both WHO and the United Nations are directly targeting this group of countries. Now it’s time for them to extend their hand to play the role of “saving the world”. However, this is also the time when the controversy broke out the most. The US has announced that it will deliver 70 million doses of its vaccine to developing countries between now and July. The EU will also contribute back to the COVAX program, after a temporary withdrawal to keep the vaccine for itself. But, even so, it’s still not enough. Because the most advanced vaccines being used by the US and EU require extremely complex preservation technologies that are not easy for poor or developing countries to meet. In Africa, hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines have been destroyed, even though they still have their expiry date, because they cannot guarantee the storage conditions on the way to users. This situation may be even more serious, when the number of vaccines from the EU and the US is brought in in large numbers in the near future. And the cost of high-end vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna is never cheap, when Pfizer – BioNtech or Moderna apply the most advanced technologies that not even Russia or China have access to. A new call has been made, for rich countries to share vaccine copyrights with poor countries, in order to create a vaccine that suits them. However, advanced genetic technologies are copyrighted by major pharmaceutical companies, where they want to hold the secret not only for this COVID vaccine. As a result, the controversy has shifted from the states to the people of the vaccine-hungry poor countries, with the wealthy owners of the big pharmaceutical companies. Loss of motivation to research to find new products is the reason that big pharmaceutical companies rely on to protect their patents. Meanwhile, inequality in vaccine distribution has serious consequences for the lives of hundreds of millions of other people. Still, it wasn’t easy for those wealthy owners to give in. Therefore, before relying on the “kindness” of pharmaceutical companies, the most concrete thing that rich countries can do is probably just to try to fill this inequality by giving poor countries the opportunity to do so. access to their starting surplus vaccine resources. Saving people is actually saving yourself.
Tu Uyen

Anthony and his wife invited 9 people to a luxurious gala dinner at their apartment. Snacks such as fruit jelly are contained in large syringes, while drinks are poured into boxes labeled Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson – 3 companies that provide Covid-19 vaccines, according to NY Post. “We waited too long to meet everyone. It’s time to have fun again,” Anthony said. The party was planned by celebrity event organizer Amanda Orso. Orso said she has coordinated similar events in other cities like Miami, Florida. “It’s not too ostentatious or cheesy, but elevated to a more elaborate party,” Orso said. Laurence Anthony’s party was nicely decorated. Photo: NY Post. Like Laurence Anthony, Karina Freedman (51 years old, from Manhasset, Long Island), owner of two skin care clinics, also plans a “vaccination party” for mid-May 2021. “Everyone can finally get together and celebrate. Surely everyone will be very happy,” Freedman shared. Freedman plans to give attendees gift bags containing healing crystals with the wishes “Be happy, stay healthy, good luck”. While many people hire event planning services to assist with planning, others only do small parties with relatives and friends. Leticia Rossi and Guilherme Baglioli (living in Austin, Texas) moved into a new home in January 2020. Due to the pandemic, the young couple could not hold a housewarming party. When their areas reopened from March 10 according to Governor Greg Abbott’s decision, Rossi and Baglioli joined a group of close friends for a dinner at home. All had previously been vaccinated. “We finally got to hug and talk to each other. It’s good that everyone is at peace,” Rossi wrote on his personal Instagram page. However, experts say that gathering and partying at this time is too early and risks a stronger outbreak. Although vaccination has been widely conducted and the number of new cases has decreased, the Covid-19 epidemic is still raging in many places across the United States, according to The Guardian. In early March 2021, despite criticism from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alabama, Texas and Mississippi still decided to lift epidemic prevention restrictions, according to the CDC. BBC. Florida beaches are packed with people. Photo: Reuters. In Florida, many young people flock here to party and celebrate spring break when the state lifts anti-epidemic measures. Quite a few people said they were “not in the at-risk group”. Therefore, they are not concerned about Covid-19. And in Las Vegas, after a long closure, pool parties are “covering” again as more and more people are vaccinated. “Four months ago, Las Vegas was like a ghost city. Now pool party participants have to distance themselves. We are required to wear masks outside the pool area,” Alyssa Waggoner (25 years old) told Insiders.

Tokyo’s overlapping messages have drawn criticism, as the country lags behind countries like the US in vaccinations. Japan has recorded about 695,000 new coronavirus infections and 12,000 deaths. The country is facing a new wave of infections in the context of the Tokyo Olympics approaching. Many Japanese prefectures are still in a state of emergency to limit the spread. Tokyo has contracts with three suppliers, under which it will have 120 million doses of AstraZeneca, 50 million doses of Moderna (to be completed by the end of September) and is negotiating an additional 50 million doses, along with 194 doses of Pfizer calculated. until the end of this year. With this number, Japan will have enough vaccine to vaccinate the entire population of 126 million people, according to Japan Times . On May 21, the country approved the use of the Moderna vaccine for people 18 years of age and older, but AstraZeneca has not yet been approved for the public. The Japanese government’s vaccination program is using the Pfizer vaccine, while the Moderna vaccine will be rolled out from next week in Tokyo and Osaka. Many concerns when using vaccines The biggest barrier to new vaccine doses available in Japan is the screening process, which evaluates efficacy and safety based on clinical trial data. Like other covid-19 vaccines, doses of AstraZeneca are classified as an emergency measure in pandemic response in Japan, used only when the Health Ministry allows the city governments. The licensing action requires a separate approval process, which includes a subcommittee on vaccines from the Ministry of Health meeting to discuss the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Japan in a broader context based on: fruit; alternatives from Pfizer and Moderna; Japanese immunization schedule and potential side effects. Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine is shipped in Tokyo, Japan, February 16. Photo: AP. However, the road to deploying vaccines in the real world is still fraught with thorns, due to growing concerns about potential side effects of vaccines. There have been reports of a small number of people receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine developing blood clots, including in some cases death. This condition usually occurs in younger age groups. The UK reported 79 cases of AstraZeneca vaccination at the end of March, out of 20.2 million doses administered. As a result, 19 people died, of which 11 were under the age of 50. This has led some countries to restrict vaccination of the elderly – a direction that seems unlikely for Japan. The plan is still open Japan has given the Pfizer vaccine to the elderly and will start providing the Moderna vaccine at mass vaccination sites on May 24. The country has guaranteed enough doses for more than 122 million people, of which more than 110 million people aged 16 and over are allowed to receive the vaccine. Vaccination site for people 65 and older in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan on April 12. Photo: Kyodo. Given that Japan already has sufficient supplies for the vaccination campaign for the elderly, with a goal of completing it by the end of July, the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for this age group in Japan is unlikely. On May 21, the vaccine subcommittee continued to discuss what should be done with the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is not yet clear when a decision will be made on the matter, the Health Ministry said. With so many people waiting to be vaccinated, one expert argues that the government should not ignore any vaccine. Otherwise, the Japanese public, with the exception of the elderly, will not receive any vaccines until the fall. “We may not even get there by the end of the year,” Gakushuin University economics professor Wataru Suzuki wrote in a commentary for Nikkei . “Certainly people who want to be protected from the virus as soon as possible have a need to be vaccinated, similar to those who want a vaccine passport to be able to travel abroad on business, and the Ministry of Health is going too far by how to eliminate options,” he argued. Where will 120 million doses go? The Japanese government has reached an agreement to purchase 120 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, all manufactured in Japan, using undiluted solutions from the United States. Of these, 30 million will be manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo and KM Biologics, and 90 million doses will be manufactured by JCR Pharmaceuticals. However, it is not clear how many of these vaccines have been produced Nikkei Asia. Imports and production begin this spring. Daiichi Sankyo and KM are both preparing to ship the vaccine once it is approved by the government. The mid-range drug maker has started production using equipment and technology from AstraZeneca. JCR has announced plans to build a new factory. The US and Japan will have to find a way to handle the 120 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the Universities of Oxford and AstraZeneca without any plans to use them. Photo: Reuters. AstraZeneca says its completed vaccine can be stored in the refrigerator for at least half a year at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It’s uncertain at this point how many vaccines are ready to be manufactured. If there is no decision on where to use the vaccine in the next six months, the stockpile could expire. The US has yet to start rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, the country has agreed to purchase 300 million doses and already has shipments ready to deliver. Currently, the US plans to ship the unused vaccine elsewhere.

Bran Castle – a popular tourist attraction in Transylvanian, Romania – which is considered the inspiration for the famous novel series “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, has set up a Covid-19 vaccination center and visitors come to These can be vaccinated for free. Doctors and nurses at the center will be in charge of injecting Pfizer injections for visitors to the castle, built around the 14th century. Bran Castle in Brașov District, Transylvanian, Romania is considered the inspiration for the famous novel series “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. Photo: Getty. According to the announcement from the management, anyone can come for free injection every weekend in May without an appointment. In addition, tourists coming here will also be able to visit the castle’s gallery of 52 medieval torture instruments at no extra cost. Fernando Orozco, a 37-year-old renewable energy market developer, thinks this is an interesting and unique idea: “I’m going to the castle. I think it’s a very rare occasion.” Regarding the Covid-19 vaccination program, the Romanian government expects to complete the vaccination of 10 million people by September. However, according to a survey published in April from the research organization Globsec, Romanian people tend to be the least vaccinated among the member states of the European Union (EU).

Clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine showed up to 95-96% effectiveness against invading coronaviruses. According to the New York Times , each batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with 7.5 million doses is produced in 60 days. The most advanced mRNA technology The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine uses mRNA technology. This vaccine is recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in people 12 years of age and older. The SARS-CoV-2 virus carries proteins that allow it to enter human body cells. These proteins – known as spike proteins – are the subject of research in the production of vaccines and drugs to treat Covid-19. Coronavirus. Photo: New York Times. Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is based on the genetic makeup of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to create artificial protein spikes. Vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA), a type of genetic material that human cells process to make proteins. The messenger RNA molecules are very fragile, so they will be broken down by natural enzymes in the human body if injected directly into the human body. To protect the mRNA in the vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech wraps the mRNA molecules in an oil bubble made of microscopic fat particles. mRNA molecule. Photo: New York Times. Due to their unstable nature, the mRNA molecules in the vaccine will be degraded at normal temperatures. Therefore, vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech need to be stored at deep cold temperatures, at least -70 degrees Celsius or less. To keep the vaccine of Pfizer-BioNTech stable, special containers are required, including dry ice, heat sensors and GPS trackers. Inject vaccines into the body After vaccination, the molecular particles in the vaccine will collide and fuse with human body cells, releasing mRNA. Human body cells will read the genetic content contained in the mRNA and from there produce protein spikes. The mRNA molecule from the vaccine is eventually destroyed by human cells forever. Vaccine molecules interact with cells. Photo: New York Times. Some protein spikes will form spikes, which rise to the surface of the cell and protrude outward. Cells that have been affected by the vaccine also break down the protein into small pieces on the surface. The protein spikes protruding from the cell, and the protein molecule on the cell surface, will eventually wake up the human immune system. When cells that have interacted with the vaccine die, their fragments contain many protein spikes and protein fragments. These fragments will be picked up by a type of immune cell called molecular antigen-presenting cells (APCs). APC cells activate helper-T cells. Photo: New York Times. Fragments of protein spikes will stick to the surface of APC cells, until helper-T cells detect these fragments. The helper-T cells then trigger the immune system to produce antibodies against the coronavirus. Antibody production Other immune cells, called B cells, can collide with the coronavirus spike protein on the surface of the cell that has interacted with the vaccine, or the floating protein spike debris. Some B cells can adhere to protein spikes. Helper-T cells activate B cells that help produce antibodies. Photo: New York Times. When B cells are activated by helper-T cells, they begin to produce antibodies that attack the spike protein. Antibodies neutralize corona virus. Photo: New York Times. The antibody produced will attach to the spike protein of the invading corona virus. Antibodies mark the virus for later destruction by the body’s immune system. More importantly, the antibody prevents the viral spike protein from attaching to the healthy cells of the human body. To destroy the virus, APC cells activate another type of immune cell called cytotoxic-T cells. This cell is responsible for finding and destroying cells that have been infected by the virus through the signal of protein spike fragments on the surface. Cytotoxic-T cells destroy infected cells. Photo: New York Times. Remember information about corona virus Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is given in two doses, 21 days apart, to help the immune system work most effectively against the corona virus. But because of the lack of time to study, scientists cannot be sure how long the immunity created by the vaccine will last. Preliminary research shows that within 10 days of receiving the first dose, the vaccine begins to build a strong immune system against the virus. It is likely that, after several months of vaccination, the number of antibodies and cytotoxic-T cells will gradually decrease. But the immune system also contains special cells that store information about the corona virus for years, even decades. Each vial of vaccine contains 5 injection doses of 0.3 ml. Vaccines need to be thawed and diluted with saline. After dilution, the vaccine must be used within 6 hours.

Bran Castle. Photo: AP The AP news agency (USA) reported that a COVID-19 vaccination center has been set up at Bran Castle in the Transylvania region. This castle is the site where Irish writer Bram Stoker inspired Dracula’s “vampire’s home” in the 19th century horror novel “Dracula”. Accordingly, every weekend of May will take place the “vaccine marathon” program at Bran Castle. People who come for injections do not need to book an appointment. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine recipients will receive free admission to the castle’s torture chamber, home to 52 medieval torture instruments. At the end of the first week of May, nearly 400 people went to Bran Castle for a COVID-19 vaccine. However, there is a rule that only Romanian people can get the COVID-19 vaccine for free. The program at Bran Castle is part of a series of initiatives by the Romanian government to promote the COVID-19 vaccine campaign in this country of 19 million people. The Romanian government hopes to be able to vaccinate 5 million people by June 1. From May 8, all vaccination centers in Romania apply the rule that no reservations are made after 2pm. According to the statistics of worldometers.info, as of 9 am on May 11, the total number of COVID-19 infections in Romania is over 1 million cases, of which 29,034 have died.

Australia ordered 25 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine. AAP photo. Moderna pharmaceutical company said Australia will receive two batches of vaccines, including a booster batch of vaccine capable of dealing with new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel also said that the company intends to set up a vaccine production facility in Australia this year and this intention is being discussed by the company with the Australian government. Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine has not been approved in Australia, but the company said it will quickly submit an application to the Therapeutic Goods Administration for approval. Moderna’s vaccine is manufactured on the same mRNA technology platform as Pfizer’s vaccine and is considered highly effective in preventing deaths and hospitalizations due to Covid-19. Moderna’s vaccine has not yet been approved for use by the Australian Drug Administration, but it is being used widely in vaccination programs in the US. Thus, with the agreement with Moderna, Australia has ordered a total of nearly 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, enough to vaccinate nearly four times the population of this country.

According to the news agency DW The final decision on whether or not to give up the copyright for the COVID-19 vaccine will be decided by the 164-member World Trade Organization (WTO). Of these, more than 100 countries have supported negotiations towards the abolition of measures to protect intellectual property rights with the COVID-19 vaccine. However, as long as a country disagrees, the WTO cannot approve this proposal. However, there are still countries that oppose the US move. Press conference on this issue on May 6, a spokesman for the German government warned that this would make pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies lose motivation to research and develop vaccines, negatively impacting. the entire vaccine industry in general. Therefore “the protection of intellectual property is a resource for creativity and must be maintained in the future”. The waiver of the vaccine license does not help much in the goal of increasing world vaccination coverage. The reason, “the factors that limit the number of vaccines vaccinated are production capacity and quality standards, not the copyright story”. Protect effort and gi Oh degree ng l Ugh c research According to radio CNN In the current context, giving up intellectual property rights with vaccines is a very complicated problem. A vaccine that has been successfully researched and developed is a collection of a series of different ingredients and materials and each ingredient and ingredient is copyrighted by at least one company or researcher. wisdom. For example, inside the vaccine company Pfizer (USA) and Biotechnology Company BioNTech (Germany) produces 280 ingredients and materials are licensed from many parties from 19 countries. Once a waiver scenario occurs, anyone can freely access and use the ingredients and ingredients in this vaccine – causing significant damage to Pfizer, BioNTech and others. holding the copyrights of those ingredients and materials. Medical staff in the capital Berlin (Germany) prepare the vials of vaccines to be vaccinated in April. Photo: DW “A single dose of vaccine contains all intellectual property from licensing agreements, copyrights, industrial designs to trade secret protection laws, patent secrets. If the copyright for the COVID-19 vaccine is abandoned, how can this be enforced? ” – Intellectual property rights expert Achal Prabhala of the Shuttleworth Foundation (South Africa) analyzed. Mr. Prabhala also affirmed that intellectual copyright is the backbone of the entire pharmaceutical and medical industry because it is difficult and time-consuming to research and create a product that is safe to use in humans. The recognition and protection of copyright is a way of respecting the efforts of researchers. The risk of technology secrets disclosure Another equally important issue when it comes to vaccine licensing issues is the protection of vaccine technology and formulation. Currently, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna (USA) are the pharmaceutical companies and technology companies leading the use of new generation mRNA technology to significantly increase the effectiveness of vaccines. This technology is also evaluated to be highly applicable not only in the prevention of COVID-19 but also in other diseases in the future. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies in Russia or China have not fully applied this technology; Vaccines that these countries produce and put into use do not have mRNA technology, so the effectiveness level is also somewhat not as high. “Pfizer and Moderna took years of research to develop these vaccines. China and Russia and other countries both want to access it. Their goal is to possess the underlying technology to make vaccines not only to prevent COVID-19 but also for other diseases, ”said former US Ambassador to China Gary Locke. Reuters . In the event that the vaccine rights are abandoned, Beijing will likely force the above-mentioned pharmaceutical firms to hand over the technology if they want to operate in the Chinese market. On the other hand, Beijing may also ask other companies to generate income for such information without fear of being criticized for stealing foreign company secrets. If pharmaceutical companies refuse to provide information, they will face many legal consequences. Remember, intellectual property rights have been a big question between the US and China for many years now, and has been one of the main reasons for the outbreak of the US-China trade war in 2018. • EU completed a contract to buy 1.8 billion vaccine money Associated Reuters May 10 quoted Mr. Thierry Breton – Commissioner in charge of industry and domestic markets the European Union (EU) said that this bloc will not continue to buy vaccine COVID-19 by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (UK-Switzerland). Swedish) production. The reason AstraZeneca has not met its commitment to supply vaccines to the EU. By the end of the first quarter of 2021, the EU received only 67 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, although the initial target was 300 million doses. It is expected that in the second quarter, the EU will receive an additional 250 million doses. The remaining 280 million doses will be delivered to the EU by AstraZeneca during the last six months of 2021. In addition to legal disputes with the EU, AstraZeneca’s vaccine reputation has also deteriorated due to information related to adverse reactions. Some European countries such as Denmark have stopped using AstraZeneca’s vaccine, while in most other countries in the region, this vaccine is only used for people over 55 years old. After discontinuing the contract with AstraZeneca, the EU plans to order more vaccines using mRNA technology such as Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna. In fact, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said over the weekend that the EU has officially completed a contract to buy up to 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine over the next two years.

The Royal Thailand Notice has published the country’s vaccine passport format form, with the official name of the “Covid-19 immunization certificate”, which contains the name, passport number and nationality of the person who received the vaccine. vaccinations. Only people who get vaccinated in Thailand or are certified by the World Health Organization can be issued with vaccine passports. Photo: Tan Hoa commune Vaccine passport issued by Thailand can only be used for 1 person and children under 7 years old must have parent’s signature on their passport. Only six senior health officials in Thailand are authorized to sign the vaccine passport. Thailand currently records more than 46,000 Covid-19 cases and the country is stepping up its national vaccination campaign. Thailand’s Ministry of Health is expected to let people book vaccinations through an application on the phone from May 1 to. Thailand is planning to purchase an additional 5 million to 10 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to meet the country’s need for immunization.

From Notker Blechner, tagesschau.de So far it has seemed that children are largely spared from Corona. Many who were infected with Covid-19 had asymptomatic or mild disease. Serious illnesses were rare. “I haven’t had a bad case so far,” says pediatrician Axel Gerschlauer from Bonn, regional spokesman for the professional association of paediatricians. But there have also been deaths in children in connection with a corona infection. Long-term effects are even more common. More than 250 cases of the PIMS syndrome (“Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome”) have already been counted. This is an immune reaction that occurs a few weeks after infection, especially in children, and can be life-threatening.

Some children suffer from long-term effects

Surveys from abroad are also alarming, according to which numerous children and adolescents suffer from “long covid”, i.e. post-viral symptoms weeks or months after the infection. According to recently published data from Great Britain, 15 percent of adolescents between the ages of eleven and 16 complained of persistent headaches, sudden learning disorders or a drop in performance in sports five weeks after the corona illness. In a study by a clinic in Rome, it was even found that almost half (43 percent) of the children infected with Corona had at least one symptom that was affecting them four months later. “Children are not the drivers of the pandemic,” said Jörg Dötsch, President of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine. However, since February the incidence among the youngest has also increased significantly in Germany. On the one hand, this may be due to the numerous tests that were carried out in schools. On the other hand, the proportion of people over the age of 70 in cases of illness has fallen significantly, as they have largely been vaccinated. Pediatricians consider it important to vaccinate children and adolescents as quickly as possible – especially in view of the mutated South African, British and Brazilian corona viruses. This is the only way to achieve herd immunity. Experts now believe that 80 to 90 percent of the population should be vaccinated to ensure collective protection. Because the more contagious the virus, the higher the vaccination rate must be. “If vaccination is not carried out across all population groups, extensive immunity cannot arise in the general population,” says Thomas Fischbach, President of the Association of Pediatricians. Heinz Hilgers, President of the Child Protection Association, also says: “We will not get out of this pandemic without vaccinations for children.”

Schoolchildren in Israel already vaccinated

Vaccine manufacturers understand the importance of children and teenagers. “Younger children, who make up a large part of the world’s population, play a crucial role in our fight against Covid-19,” said BioNTech and Pfizer recently. The German-American company duo wants to accelerate the development of vaccines for children and adolescents. BioNTech boss Ugur Sahin spoke of promising studies at the analysts’ balance sheet conference. A phase III study in 12 to 15 year olds was particularly successful. The vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in this age group. None of the vaccinated 2260 participants in the study was sick with Covid-19, it said. “The first results of the study in adolescents indicate that children are particularly protected by the vaccination,” said CEO Sahin. BioNTech-Pfizer plans to apply for emergency approval in the USA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the coming weeks. Pfizer boss Albert Bourla is confident that the first young Americans will be vaccinated in the US before the start of the next school year. So far, the drug has been approved for people aged 16 and over in countries such as the USA and Israel. In Israel, the first pupils under the age of 18 were vaccinated.

The very little ones still have to wait

Now there should also be clinical tests for vaccines in children between six months and eleven years. If the study is positive, the vaccine could be used in the youngest from the beginning of 2022. The US company Moderna and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca were faster. They had started testing their corona vaccines on younger children even before BioNTech-Pfizer. The results of the Moderna study for the vaccine in 12 to 17 year olds are expected in the middle of the year. The US FDA has approved Moderna tests on children aged six months to twelve years. AstraZeneca began a study of its vaccine in 6 to 17 year olds in the UK in February. Johnson & Johnson is also planning its own pediatric studies. The European Medicines Agency has obliged the four major suppliers to also test their vaccines for children.

BioNTech and Pfizer clearly ahead

But so far BioNTech-Pfizer has been ahead in the race for children’s vaccines. Analysts like Daniel Wendorff from Commerzbank are convinced of this. The Mainz vaccine is so far the only one that has been proven to be effective in 12 to 15 year olds. BioNTech and Pfizer would have such great market power anyway that the two companies could quickly increase production. When it comes to absolute vaccination doses and the availability of data, BioNTech-Pfizer is a leader, says Wendorff. The EU is increasingly relying on BioNTech-Pfizer. Brussels is about to finalize a huge order for 1.8 billion cans, the majority of which are for children and young people. The rest are booster vaccinations that are likely to be required in the years to come.

First approval in late summer?

Thomas Mertens, the chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), has shown confidence that in Germany Corona vaccine available for children at the end of the year will be. Association president Dötsch even hopes that “we will get a vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds in late summer or autumn at the latest, for smaller children it will probably take longer”. However, other experts warn against being too optimistic. “Children are not little adults,” says pediatrician Gerschlauer. You can’t give them half the dose just because they’re half the size of adults. The immune system of the little ones is completely different. In addition, there is the problem that it is more difficult to find children as test subjects for studies. Smarter would like to see a vaccine approved for the youngest of our society as soon as possible. Because children in particular are the biggest losers in the corona pandemic. In his practice he currently counts more young patients with mental disorders than ever before. “Many have eating and sleeping disorders or even depression.” This is confirmed by Jörg Dötsch, President of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine: “70 to 90 percent of children are under severe psychological stress from the pandemic,” he estimates. “We’re really worried about the little ones.”

The Peter Doherty Institute of Infectious and Immunology will join Monash University, the University of Melbourne and a number of other research centers as the recipients of funding to develop the above plan. Vaccination against Covid-19 in Australia is facing many challenges due to lack of supply. (Source: Reuters) Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute said they are working on a “preventive” vaccine with mRNA technology that can be modified to fight variations. Mr. Merlino said that this plan is an important event, not only for Victoria but for the entire country of Australia. Besides, he affirmed that the support budget will be increased when the project is developed in the future. Australia is currently only capable of producing AstraZeneca’s vaccines, with the initial plan being that the CSL facility in the city of Melbourne will produce more than 50 million doses. Vaccination against Covid-19 in Australia is facing many challenges due to the lack of vaccine supply, as well as the safety of the vaccine in relation to the side effects of thrombosis. (Reuters)

Acting Premier of Victoria, James Merlino. (Source: abc.net.au) On the morning of April 21, Mr. James Merlino, acting Premier of Victoria ( Australia ) announced that it would provide AUD 50 million (approximately US $ 38.6 million) to launch a project to develop vaccine production technology for mRNA at state vaccine research facilities. Under the project, it will take at least 12 months for Australia to be able to produce any vaccine under it mRNA technology . The move will pave the way for vaccines using mRNA technology such as Pfizer and Moderna to be produced in Australia, according to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Sydney. The Peter Doherty Institute of Infectious and Immunology will join Monash University, the University of Melbourne and a number of other research centers as the recipients of the funding to develop the above plan. Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute say they are working on a “preventive” vaccine with mRNA technology that can be modified to fight variations. Mr. Merlino said that this plan is an important event, not only for Victoria but for the whole of Australia. Besides, he affirmed that the support budget will be increased when the project is developed in the future. Australia is currently only capable vaccine production of AstraZeneca with the initial plan that the CSL facility in the city of Melbourne will produce more than 50 million doses. Vaccination work COVID-19 Australia is facing many challenges due to the lack of vaccine supplies, as well as the safety of this vaccine related to the side effects of thrombosis.

The world has been getting COVID-19 vaccination for several months. Besides the hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be controlled, there is no small concern with the fact that a series of new virus variants have appeared and are still appearing. It can be said that the global market is in the race between the vaccine and the unknown virus variants. The COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson started being distributed in the US in early March amid dangerous spreading of the variants. Photo: GETTY IMAGES Many dangerous variations Virus strain means there is a mutation, changes in the genetic structure of the virus, causing the virus to change the way it works. In addition to the old virus strain, the world currently has many new variants such as B.1.1.7 (originated from England, has spread to more than 90 countries), B.1.351 from South Africa (has spread to more than 40 countries). , P1 and P2 from Brazil (has spread to 25 countries, some cases have been infected and recovered from being re-infected with variant P1), D614G from Europe, A.23.1 from Rwanda. In which the variant appeared from South Africa is said to be the most difficult to prevent and the most dangerous. Studies show that the vaccine strain B.1.351 of the vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech and of AstraZeneca / Oxford is not as effective as the old vaccine. Clinical trials of vaccines by Johnson & Johnson and Novavax also showed that the ability to prevent this variant is not high. These variants – with a faster rate of spread, a higher risk of death, and an easier way to outdo existing vaccines – threaten efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the appearance of the variants also points to another concern: More dangerous variants will emerge in the future if the world fails to win the current race. The current pace of immunization globally is worryingly slow, especially in poor countries. It can be understood that even though rich countries vaccinate rapidly, new variants may emerge in poor countries that have not yet had adequate immunization coverage. Understanding these risks, vaccine developers are working hard to increase effectiveness in coping with variants. And the global health organizations are also making efforts to accelerate the speed of global distribution and vaccination. These are difficult times. This will be our toughest time to see which side wins. If we can hold on for another month or six, there’s a big difference. TS PETER HOTEZ , Rector of Baylor College of Tropical Medicine (USA) Vaccine firms’ efforts The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines and Moderna’s vaccines (both doses) both use the mRNA molecule as the foundation. This molecule instructs the body to make a mutant protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which signals the immune system to fight off the mutant protein if encountered. The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine (two doses) uses a reprogrammed version of another virus, adenovirus, that uses the DNA encoding the mutant protein of SARS-CoV-2. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine (single dose) also uses adenovirus. With these two vaccine platforms, once they want to redirect to deal with new variants, developers will need to modify their DNA or mRNA codes. Fortunately, this can be done simply and quickly, but the disadvantage is that it will require expensive changes to the vaccine production process and more time to produce and distribute. Hoping to avoid these shortcomings, Pfizer is now considering the possibility of adding a third dose to the current two-dose regimen to reinforce the effectiveness of preventing new variants. Talk to the radio NBC News At the end of February, Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla was confident that “the third dose will increase the antibody response 10 to 20 times”. Moderna is also working on the possibility of giving one-dose booster to the current two-dose regimen. In addition, at the end of February Moderna sent a version of the vaccine optimized to cope with the variant in South Africa to the US National Institutes of Health for further study. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson is confident its vaccine is resistant to many more variants because it is developed later than the above brands. Johnson & Johnson are also working on a two-dose vaccine (currently only available in one-dose version). Last week Pfizer announced that it would soon launch the trial of COVID-19, a positive news that gives further hope to quell the pandemic. Meanwhile according to the news agency Reuters Currently, many Asian countries are speeding up the distribution of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, after a period of concerns about the safety of the information that this vaccination causes thrombosis appeared in Europe. Earlier this week, many countries and territories in Asia activated vaccination. Some regional leaders are also vaccinated to reinforce confidence, including the Head of the Administration of Taiwan Institute – Mr. To Trinh Xuong, Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha. In Europe, after a short hiatus, many continental countries have also restored this vaccination. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received the first dose last weekend and said “nothing strange”. The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the few first available COVID-19 vaccines, available at a low cost and according to Reuters This vaccine will be at the heart of COVID-19 vaccination programs in most developing countries. The positive side of “vaccine diplomacy” Currently, the giants of vaccine COVID-19 (USA, China, India) are trying to expand distribution of vaccine globally. Compared to the US, the two countries India and China are more enthusiastic about implementing the campaign “vaccine diplomacy”. China has announced it will donate vaccines to 53 countries, and has already shipped millions of doses of its domestic vaccine to Asia, Africa and Latin America. When asked if the US could surpass China in “vaccine diplomacy” last week, the State Department spokesman did not respond. However, according to the news site The Hill The US is working with countries in the quartet group (India, Australia, Japan) to discuss providing vaccines to Asian countries to both stop the COVID-19 epidemic and as a counterbalance to China’s “vaccine diplomacy” campaign. National. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed this with three of their counterparts from February 18. During a meeting with G7 leaders last month, US President Joe Biden promised that the United States would donate 4 billion doses to the World Health Organization (WHO) Gavi vaccine alliance and possibly many more.

AstraZeneca / Oxford University COVID-19 Vaccine. Photo: AFP / VNA

In February 2021, a team of vaccine researchers at Oxford University started a study called Com-Cov, in which volunteers are given the first and second shots with two different vaccines. are Oxford / AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Now, the researchers will add Moderna and Novavax vaccines to the pilot program.

Matthew Snape, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Immunization at Oxford University and lead the study, said the focus of the study was to find out if the available COVID-19 vaccines could be used. more flexibly, with the use of one vaccine for the first shot and another for the second shot, or not.

Associate Professor Matthew Snape expects that if research can prove that the mixed vaccination produces the same immune response as the standard vaccination and does not significantly increase the response to the vaccine, there will be more. people completing the COVID-19 vaccination plan earlier. This will also assist the health system in responding to a shortage of any vaccines currently in use.

To expand this study, researchers are looking for more volunteers over the age of 50 who have received their first shot of the vaccine in the past 8 to 12 weeks. Volunteers, who received their first shot with the Oxford / AstraZeneca or Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, will be randomly assigned to receive a second shot with the same first shot or with the vaccine. Made by Moderna or Novavax.