Asian countries are not betting on Pfizer’s experimental vaccine. (Reuters)
Tokyo:
With tropical heat, remote island communities and a shortage of ultra-cold freezers, many Asian countries are not betting on Pfizer’s experimental vaccine to solve their COVID-19 crisis anytime soon.
The world applauded Monday when Pfizer Inc announced that its injection, jointly developed with BioNTech SE, was over 90% effective based on initial test results.
Still, health experts have warned that the vaccine, if approved, is not a silver bullet – not least because the genetic material from which it is made must be stored at temperatures of 70 or less. degrees Celsius (-94 F).
These requirements pose a particularly formidable challenge for countries in Asia, as well as in regions like Africa and Latin America, where the intense heat is often compounded by poor infrastructure that will make it difficult to maintain the “chain. cold “during deliveries to rural areas. and the islands.
It’s a problem for everyone around the world, given that the World Health Organization estimates that around 70% of people need to be vaccinated to end the pandemic, and Asia alone is home to more. 4.6 billion – three fifths of the world‘s population.
Some Asian countries are prioritizing the concentration of the new coronavirus over researching vaccine stocks, while others are looking for alternatives to the messenger RNA technology used by Pfizer which requires such ultra-cold storage.
“On the cold chain requirement of -70 degrees, it’s a heavy requirement. We don’t have such a facility,” Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque told Reuters.
“We will have to wait and see for now,” he added. “The technology Pfizer is using is new technology. We have no experience in this area, so the risks can be high.”
Pfizer told Reuters it has developed detailed logistics plans and tools to support vaccine transport, storage and continuous temperature monitoring.
“We have also developed packaging and storage innovations to suit the range of places where we believe vaccinations will take place,” he said.
“The vaccine is a story of the future”
Yet even the wealthiest countries like South Korea and Japan are managing expectations.
“Storage is going to be a big challenge for us,” said Fumie Sakamoto, infection control manager at St. Luke International Hospital in Tokyo.
“I don’t know if our government is well prepared when it comes to maintaining the cold chain. Japanese hospitals usually don’t have ultra-cold freezers, but I think it’s high time we started thinking vaccine logistics. “
Japan is one of three Asia-Pacific countries that have announced supply agreements for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. He signed a deal for 120 million doses, while Australia got 10 million doses and China’s Fosun got 10 million doses for Hong Kong and Macau.
Japan’s PHC Corp, which supplies medical freezers, told Reuters demand has increased 150% this year and is increasing production to meet demand.
Kwon Jun-wook, an official with the South Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said he wanted to see first how immunization was progressing in other countries and would thoroughly review his chain. supply.
The country recently experienced cold storage problems when it had to throw away around 5 million doses of influenza vaccines because they were not stored at recommended temperatures.
A 2018 study commissioned by the agency found that only a quarter of 2,200 private clinics surveyed had medical refrigerators, 40% of which used household refrigerators.
For some countries, it is still very early.
Indonesia, with 273 million people scattered across more than 17,000 islands, is considering a variety of vaccines, but Pfizer’s is not yet one of them, said Airlangga Hartarto, who heads the COVID response team. -19 of the country.
Vietnam, which has managed to contain its outbreak through aggressive mass testing and strict border controls, said it will continue to focus on containment efforts.
“The vaccine is a story of the future,” Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a government meeting on Friday.
“The demand is much higher than the supply and we have to pay large deposits to secure our position, which I see as a very high risk and a waste of time and money.”
