Corona vaccine is going to be available this year! When is it coming to Bangladesh?

 

There are hundreds of Corona vaccines in development around the world, and about a dozen in the final stages of testing, known as phase three. The US Pharmaceutical company Pfizer was the first to announce the good news about the effectiveness of their coronary vaccine against the deadly Coronavirus based on its phase three trial results. A day later, Russia also claimed that they were not behind in making the Corona vaccine. A few days later, another US biotech firm, Moderna reported its success against Coronavirus. And the latest addition to this list is the good news of the British Oxford University Corona vaccine. Maybe more good news will come in future relating Corona vaccine as other companies of the world are also working to develop vaccines. So, the corona-stricken world can hope that the corona vaccine is coming in a few days, maybe later this year!

Here are the details of the success story of the corona vaccines, which was reported this November:

On November 9, the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German biotechnology company BioNTech announced that their jointly developed Corona vaccine candidate is up to 90% effective against coronavirus.

On November 11, a day after the Pfizer announcement, Russia announced that their Sputnik V vaccine showed 92% effectiveness in late stage trials.

Then, on November 16, US organization Moderna Incorporation reported that their coronary vaccine candidate showed 94.5% efficacy.

On November 18, announced that the efficacy portion of their Covid-19 vaccine trial has been completed, showing the vaccine to prevent 95% of cases of the disease.

On 20 November the success of the coronavirus vaccine, invented by the Oxford University and the AstraZeneca Company was reported. They said that their vaccine showed a strong immune response in adults in their 60s and 70s, raising hopes that it can protect age groups most at risk from the Coronavirus.

On 20 November Pfizer Pfizer and BioNTech have applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) for their coronavirus vaccine candidate. That was the first coronavirus vaccine to seek regulatory clearance in the United States.

On 23 November Oxford University and AstraZeneca again reported that their vaccine candidate can protect 70.4% of people from becoming ill by Coronavirus. They said, the interim data suggests 70.4% protection against Coronavirus, but the researchers say the figure may be as high as 90% by tweaking the dose.

So, it is obvious that in the long dark tunnel that has been 2020, November stands out as the month that light appeared. And it is very certain that the corona vaccine is coming very soon, which is awaited by the whole world.

So far, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca have reported successful breakthroughs against Coronavirus. The inventors of these four vaccines claimed that the vaccines made by them will stop the Corona pandemic. If we compare the four-vaccine candidate's efficacy, it is observed that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has the lower overall effectiveness than the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines - at least at this interim stage - but there are other success factors to consider. Safety is one, and the Oxford vaccine is so far reported to have a good safety record with no serious side-effects.

Another crucial factor is storage of the vaccines. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in a fridge temperature and so it can be distributed around the world using the normal immunization distribution system. But colder storage temperatures required for the long-term storage and transport of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The need for sustained freezing across the whole vaccine journey from factory to clinic at ultra-low temperatures - as seen with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine - may be a problem for many countries, especially for the poorer countries.

Last if we consider the price of the four vaccine candidates it is found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, based on a viral vector, is cheaper (around US$4) than Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines - around US$20 and $33, respectively. The price of Sputnik V vaccine is not declared yet, but Russia mentioned that their vaccine price will be lower than Pfizer and Moderna's one. 

So much for the latest corona vaccine inventions, the question is when the corona vaccine is coming to the world market and when can Bangladesh get it?

In case of vaccine delivery, it can be said that the new Corona vaccine will be given to the people of those countries that have developed the vaccines. The US Administration has already agreed to buy 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine before it reaches full production. It is known that 60 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available in the United States for emergency use in December this year. Russia says it has received more than 100 million dosage requests for the Sputnik V vaccine from 20 countries of the world.

The latest news is that the US, UK and Germany have announced plans to begin vaccinations in their countries in December 2020, while Spain said it would start administering the vaccine to its citizens in January 2021. According to CNN, the head of the US vaccine program, Moncef Slaoui, said in the USA, the first Americans to receive a vaccine could get it as soon as 11 December2020.

The above-mentioned developed countries have given announcement of vaccinations based on Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's vaccine development program.  But experts find big challenges for Bangladesh to avail of benefits from the two vaccines due to its existing poor cold chain. They said the mRNA technology-based vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer need to be stored at minus 70-80°C temperature. In Bangladesh, vaccines can be stored at temperatures of minus 2 to 6 degrees Celsius, but there is no provision for storage of vaccines at temperatures as low as minus 70-80 degrees Celsius. Therefore, considering the price and the vaccine storage system, the most suitable vaccine for Bangladesh is the Russian Sputnik V or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Bangladesh considers the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being made available as soon as possible. According to an agreement with Oxford and AstraZeneca to produce their jointly invented vaccine in India the Serum Institute of India, the world's one of the largest vaccine manufacturer, has already manufactured millions of doses of the vaccine. As a leading supplier to the developing world, the Serum Institute of India is also in the forefront of efforts to combat "vaccine nationalism," where wealthy countries such as the United States pay to secure a massive number of doses to help their citizens first, while poor countries wait at the back of the line. And Bangladesh has been dealing with the Serum Institute of India to get the Oxford-AstraZeneca Corona vaccine.

To acquire a potential Corona vaccine being developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca for Covid-19, Bangladesh has already signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India. On November 5, 2020 a tripartite MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed with the Ministry of Health of Bangladesh, Serum Institute of India and Beximco Pharmaceuticals of Bangladesh. According to the deal, Bangladesh will procure 30 million doses of Corona vaccine from the Serum Institute of India.

Bangladesh Health Minister Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the Corona vaccine would be purchased by the Bangladesh Government and distributed in accordance with the World Health Organization guidelines. He said doctors and health workers, including those at the forefront of the fight against the corona virus, would be given priority in getting the Corona vaccine. The health minister also told reporters that arrangements would be made to bring all citizens of the country under vaccination in phases. Asked by reporters when the Corona vaccine could arrive in Bangladesh, the health minister replied he expected it to arrive in February 2021.

The Corona pandemic has been raging the world for almost a year now. The deadly Coronavirus was first detected in China on December 31 last year. Everyone hopes that before December 31 this year, the one and only weapon to stop coronavirus - Corona vaccine, will appear in the world market. The success story of the four vaccine candidates that have already been declared so far makes us optimistic reaching that goal.


The writer is a Pharmacist and Doctoral Researcher of Massey University, New Zealand.