The government expects the first corona vaccines from the German pharmaceutical company CureVac to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021. The first delivery will consist of half a million doses. With this, 250,000 Dutch people can be vaccinated, because a vaccine consists of two doses. Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) writes this in a Wednesday Letter to Parliament.
Until recently, the first CureVac vaccines were expected in the second quarter of 2021 in the Netherlands. A total of 8.7 million doses of the CureVac vaccine come our way over a period of more than a year. This means that 4.35 million Dutch people can be vaccinated.
CureVac, like BioNTech / Pfizer, is working on the development of an mRNA vaccine. The body is instructed to produce coronavirus pieces with this vaccine. These ensure that the immune system produces antibodies.
It is currently being examined which dosage works best and how well the immune system responds to it. Until now, the vaccine has only been tested on healthy adults, so it is not yet known whether it is also suitable for the elderly, for example.
Limited data available
The cabinet has asked a scientific panel led by RIVM for advice on the vaccine. This panel concludes, among other things, that limited data is currently available from CureVac.
According to De Jonge, the vaccine does have “an acceptable safety profile” and the vaccine is able to elicit antibodies and a favorable T-cell response against the corona virus. The vaccine has yet to be approved by the European drug authorities.
The Netherlands has – through the European Commission – made agreements with a total of six producers about the purchase of corona vaccines. The vaccines from BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna are also expected in the first quarter of next year.
The planned delivery for the Netherlands of the CureVac vaccine:
- Q1 2021: 0.5 million doses
- Q2 2021: 1.5 million doses
- Q3 2021: 2 million doses
- Q4 2021: 2.35 million doses
- Q1 2022: 2.35 million doses
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