"We authorize a contract for up to 300 million doses of the vaccine developed by the German company Biontec Pfizer”, The president of the EU Commission said yesterday Ursula von der Leyen adding, "Our plan is to roll it out quickly, everywhere in Europe".
(by Francesco Matera) A little more than 27,2 million doses of the German-American vaccine will be allocated to Italy, allowing about 14 million Italians (2 doses are needed for each person) to be vaccinated first.
The cost for each dose is around $ 20. In the first instance, therefore, the citizens most exposed to the virus, the elderly, immunosuppressed and healthcare personnel should be vaccinated. An increase in doses (another 100 million) is expected at EU level according to specific requests from individual countries.
In Germany and England the plans for storage and distribution are ready, in Italy, the country that always lives in perennial emergency, a specific task force was set up only on 4 November last. A job that of the newly formed task force that promises to be very difficult considering that, according to forecasts, the vaccine will begin to be delivered to the various EU countries as early as the first months of 2021.
The community distribution plan is bound by the decisions of Ema, the European drug agency, which is awaiting the dossier with clinical data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. A step that requires at least a month before being able to give the green light to the purchase of doses and the subsequent distribution to EU countries.
Pfizer-Biontec announced that scientific data will be available in late November. If the timing is respected, it is very likely that the national distribution plan will really be implemented at the beginning of 2021. Confirmation directly from Franco Locatelli, member of the Cts: "We will see the first doses of the vaccine in mid-January ".
The new contract that will be signed by Brussels follows those already signed with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Gsk e johnson & Johnson and three more could follow in the coming weeks with con Modern, curevac e Msd. It almost seems to witness a fair distribution of compensation, all companies will receive the orders. The question arises, but what will be the best vaccine? Time will give the answer according to the effects on the population. In the meantime, all the insiders will be generously rewarded.
Among the challenges that will have to be faced is guaranteeing the Pfizer-Biontec vaccine storage at least -73 degrees. In this regard, a request is being made for the Italian Defense to intervene in order to guarantee speed of transport and storage of the 27 million doses arriving, probably as early as January 2021. (refrigerated containers, such as those used in the various operational theaters, could be used. scattered around the world).
Thanks to the fact that the vaccine can be kept at -20 degrees for at least 10 days, a rapid distribution to regional vaccination centers will also be evaluated. Will the latter be ready with suitable refrigeration cells?
Also under study are places where mass vaccinations can be carried out so as not to congest the local health structures which are already behind in the treatment and prevention of other diseases.