Pfizer was the first coronavirus vaccine authorized by Argentina, which in turn was the scene of one of the largest clinical trials in the world to corroborate its efficacy in 2020, but differences due to legislation and the priority given to agreements with other pharmaceutical companies hindered the arrival of the inoculant to the South American country.
After months of negotiations and several controversies in between, which included complaints of alleged requests for bribes, the Argentine government and Pfizer-BioNTech announced on Tuesday an agreement for 20 million doses. The Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, said at a press conference that the vaccines will be destined “preferably for adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age universally.”
“We highlight and celebrate this agreement with the National government, which will allow us to make our vaccine available to Argentines,” said Nicolás Vaquer, general manager of Pfizer Argentina in a statement.
In December 2020, the Argentine health agency approved the emergency use of the US vaccine Pfizer. During the first year of the pandemic, Argentina was also the scene of one of the largest phase 3 clinical trials to corroborate the effectiveness of the inoculant. However, the first vaccine that was applied was the Russian Sputnik V. Then came AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Moderna.
Opposition leaders denounced that the government of Alberto Fernández had prioritized the Russian vaccine for geopolitical reasons and even suggested that bribes had been requested from laboratory managers to apply the vaccine in the country. The government and Pfizer denied the allegations and acknowledged that negotiations had been bogged down by local vaccine laws. The negotiation was cleared at the beginning of July when President Fernández signed a decree that modified an article of the aforementioned law referring to the criminal responsibilities of laboratories.
As confirmed by the Health Ministry, a first shipment of 560,000 doses will arrive in the country in September. The rest in the remainder of 2021.
Argentina, which has recorded more than 110,000 deaths and 5.1 million infections, has vaccinated 60% of its population of 45 million inhabitants with at least one dose.
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