The child population in Guatemala is still outside the National Vaccination Plan against covid-19, while the negotiations to acquire the biological for children between 5 and 11 years of age have not materialized by the Health authorities.
Two weeks ago, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of the Moderna vaccine for this group, which opens the range of options to protect infants against the disease, since Pfizer was the alternative endorsed by the Organization World Health Organization (WHO).
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Asofarma established an agreement with Moderna to be the link with the Central American countries and thus facilitate the acquisition of the biological, whose commercial name is SpikeVax, in the region.
“As we are a company that is established in the region, it will make it easier for governments to communicate with a Moderna representative,” said Bernardo Girala, general manager of Asofarma Central America and the Caribbean.
Guatemala has had access to the Moderna vaccine through donations from Israel -5,000 doses with which vaccination against covid-19 began in the country-, and from the United States -8.5 million doses-. So far, the Ministry of Health has not made any purchase of this biological.
In addition to collaborating in the management of contracts for the supply of vaccines currently in force, the company will also support countries in continuing medical education and in the generation of new agreements that allow the biological developed by Moderna to be brought closer to a larger population.
In Guatemala, the Law for the financing and acquisition of vaccines against the covid-19 coronavirus establishes that the purchase of doses must be made “directly with the manufacturer”.
In this case, Girala said that if the Guatemalan authorities are interested in acquiring the vaccine, this would be a direct purchase with Moderna, and Asofarma would become “a communication channel” to speed up the negotiations, since they know the region and the moment in which which the pandemic is in each of the countries.
Link with the countries
Last January, the Minister of Health, Francisco Coma, indicated that the negotiations for the purchase of vaccines for children between 5 and 11 years old were in processbut there were contractual conditions with the manufacturers that made it difficult to close the contracts.
Regarding this point, Girala mentioned that if it is “a requirement that is asked of all governments, we will not have flexibility, because it is part of Moderna’s global sales policy.” However, this is not an issue that concerns only Guatemala, these are conditions that must be fulfilled by all governments and it is generally a standard contract that is worked on.
“We act as a bridge, but the contract is made by the Ministry of Health directly with Moderna and the vaccine is delivered to the port, the place of reception that the country decides, so that later the government takes control. It is the most efficient way to work the contract, we are trying to speed it up more than placing an intermediary”, said Girala.
For now Asofarma is in the process of approaching and presenting itself with the authorities of the countries and this week the meeting could take place with the local Ministry of Health.
“A large part of the adult population is already vaccinated, the two most immediate needs in vaccination are seen in children aged 6 to 11 years, which is where the efficacy of Moderna has been demonstrated and there is little population covered with the vaccine, and in the booster, which can also be another topic to talk about in the future”, said the interviewee.
From this account, the first approach with Guatemala could be to present the vaccine for the child population, however, there is also the biological one for adults.
The use of Moderna is already approved for people over 12 years of age. This is a messenger RNA vaccine, and it’s two doses of 100 micrograms each. For children 5 to 11 years old, the dose would be lower.
It is estimated that the Guatemalan population between these ages is 2.6 million, for which it would be necessary to acquire the vaccine against covid-19.
“One advantage is that by having a presence throughout Latin America, we will be the channel through which everyone communicates with Moderna. We are going to have more of you, more weight than if it were each of our Central American countries separately” and this will speed up the response for the acquisition of the biological.
Also read: Five reasons that support childhood vaccination against covid-19
Girala mentioned that they hope to have a medical team, two people specialized in medicine, prepared to discuss with the health authorities of the countries and with the doctors to show the benefits of vaccination, and with this support that more and more people are inoculated against the coronavirus.
They will also make available to the countries the innovations and updates on the subject of vaccines that Moderna achieves, this in the face of the possible emergence of new variants such as omicron.
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