Once that is done, the vaccine will be sent to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for evaluation. Due to the urgency, the EMA has also taken a look at the phase 1 and phase 2 studies. Cecile van Els, professor of vaccinology at Utrecht University, estimates that the vaccine will therefore be approved in a month or two. Van Els is also active at the RIVM.
At the same time, pharmaceuticals are already working on the production of vaccines to ensure that they can be distributed once they are approved. The Netherlands will receive 3.1 to 6.2 million vaccines from Moderna, but it is not yet known when we will get how many. The deal with the EU is not yet officially closed either.
Because two injections are required for each person, with an interval of a few weeks, this means that 1.5 to 3 million Dutch people can be vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine.
2. What do we know and what not yet about how it works?
That the vaccine generates sufficient antibodies against infection seems certain, says Anke Huckriede of the UMCG. “This vaccine, like the Pfizer vaccine, uses mRNA technology. No successful mRNA vaccine has been marketed before, so that two independent trials are now showing similar results using the same method is encouraging.”
It is also clear that no serious side effects will develop in the short term. But what remains open are long-term questions: how long is a vaccinated person protected and will there be long-term side effects?
–
