When will a vaccine against the coronavirus be available? Who gets it first, and who decides on it? Who finances the research, who benefits? The British Medicines Agency (MHRA) has granted emergency approval for the corona vaccine of the Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer.
The British government reached an agreement with Biontech and Pfizer in July. According to the agreement, they are to supply 30 million doses. 4besnews In the EU and the USA, the responsible authorities are still examining a possible approval. According to the companies, their vaccine should be able to prevent about 95% of Covid-19 diseases. Serious side effects did not occur in the studies.
Further important information will be available shortly:
In the EU and the USA, three vaccine candidates – Biontech/Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca/ Uni Oxford – are close to possible approval. According to the companies, all three have shown high efficacy in final studies. Accordingly, no serious side effects have occurred. F9news The companies Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna have submitted applications for approval.
Now the authorities in the EU (the European Medicines Agency, EMA) and in the USA (FDA) are examining whether they will approve the drugs.The EU has already secured the supply of up to almost two billion doses. It has concluded corresponding agreements with six companies. Germany is entitled to 18.6 percent of these doses, corresponding to its population share. That would be around 365 million cans. There are also bilateral agreements with the German manufacturers Biontech, Curevac and IDT Biologika. In Germany, preparations for the vaccination program are underway.
Once approved, it should be possible to vaccinate millions of people as quickly as possible. Vaccination centers are to be set up specifically for this purpose. A major challenge is storage and transport. Because the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer must be stored at -70 degrees. The other two promising candidates can be stored at higher temperatures (Moderna: -20 degrees // AstraZeneca / Oxford University: 2 to 8 degrees).
Podcast on the hunt for the Corona vaccine development enters the hot phase. OdaLambrecht and Christian Baars inform in a weekly podcast about “The hunt for the vaccine” – as part of the series “Economy in times of Corona”. The current episode deals with the challenges that need to be overcome to vaccinate millions of people. The NDR interviewed all 16 German states on the status of preparations.
Overview: The race for the Corona vaccine
Here is an overview of the projects that are most advanced. You can get information about the vaccine candidates by clicking on the respective developer team. The clinical trial is divided into different phases – for more information see the picture gallery at the bottom of this page.Note: The list includes projects that are at least in phase 2 according to WHO as well as projects of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
Normally, in vaccine development, the phases run one after the other – currently, however, often simultaneously to speed up the process. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also started the first approval procedures while the Phase 3 studies were still ongoing (“rolling review”). Some vaccines have received emergency marketing authorization in some countries before the studies are completed. They may therefore be used with restrictions.