The deal with the pharmaceutical company was closed today and the immunizers should be distributed throughout the year; there is still no information on the number of doses
The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday, 3, that the government will acquire all available doses of the vaccine from Pfizer–BioNTech against Covid-19. The information was confirmed by Young pan with the Ministry of Health team. The deal with the pharmaceutical company was closed today. The definitive registration of the Pfizer immunizer was approved by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) on the last day 23. The permanent guarantee is a green light for the immunizer to be distributed and used for the entire population provided for in the package leaflet – not just for the priority groups, allowed for emergency use.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Minister Eduardo Pazuello guaranteed stability in the vaccine delivery schedule starting in March, with more immunizers expected to arrive by the end of the month. “As of this week, there is already a stabilization of national production, by Butantan and Fiocruz. We will have deliveries in very good quantities. It is time to vaccinate and get more vaccines. The National Immunization Program (PNI) is guaranteed ”, he said. In March, deliveries of about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca / Oxford are scheduled – it will be the first shipment of immunizers produced in Brazil by Fiocruz with imported IFA -, in addition to more doses from the Butantan Institute.
Negotiations with Pfizer
In addition to the difficulty in transporting and storing the immunizer due to the requirements, the negotiations with the Ministry of Health were blocked by “Leonine” issues imposed by Pfizer, according to Pazuello. The problems, according to him, would be in three clauses: that the federal government should be responsible “until eternity” for the side effects of the vaccine; abroad and that the Brazilian courts should give up their ability to judge the company. However, the Chamber of Deputies approved, on the last 23, a Provisional Measure (MP) that facilitated the purchase of vaccines and supplies. Among other points, the MP waives bidding and provides for more flexible rules for contracts.
Pfizer’s effectiveness
The public health system of the England released on Monday, 1st, the results of a preliminary study on the effects of the first dose of vaccines against Covid-19 that are being used in the country, that of Pfizer–BioNTech and that of AstraZeneca–Oxford University. The research pointed to a reduction of about 80% in the hospitalization of elderly people over 80 years and a decrease of approximately 60% in the appearance of symptoms of the disease among those over 70.
The immunizer showed a overall effectiveness 95%. In the elderly over 65, this number reached 94%. According to a study carried out on seven thousand health professionals who work at Hospital Sheba, in Israel, two weeks after being applied, the first dose of Pfizer vaccine is capable of reducing infections by 75% coronavirus. This suggests that it is possible to postpone the administration of the second dose in countries with a shortage of vaccines, so that more people can be inoculated earlier. The results were released on February 19 by the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet. The survey also showed an 85% reduction in the number of people who had symptoms of Covid-19. In addition, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine can be stored and transported between -15 ° C and -25 ° C, temperatures reached by common freezers. Until then, the orientation was that the immunizers should be kept between -60 ° C and -80 ° C, which required the use of sophisticated equipment and made it difficult for the vaccine to be purchased by Ministry of Health.
