“We have no official news.” The words are from an official of one of the Argentine provinces to which there is no stock left of vaccines against coronavirus. They move fast and want more, to continue immunizing the population. National or imported vaccines, but more.
The Health area official made reference, in this specific case, to the doses of Sputnik “Vida”, which are the ones that the laboratorio Richmond in Argentina with the active principle sent by the Gamaleya Institute from Moscow.
This private initiative had a sound and timely official celebration. It appeared as a possibility of mitigate the deficit of the second doses of Sputnik V, which since December is one of the main drawbacks that the vaccination campaign in the country has encountered.
However, since the first Argentine batch was finished packaging, enough time passed so that, in the meantime, alternatives arise. For example, start and end the vaccine combination trial.
Said relief, as a solution to the Russian pothole, surpassed in the race to the slow process of the Argentine Sputnik. This Tuesday, Minister Carla Vizzotti herself corroborated it on her own shoulder when she received as a second dose Moderna’s vaccine.
Nicolini, Vizzotti and Figueiras on April 20, with the first Sputnik Vida vials manufactured in the Conurbano. Photo: Télam
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The first batch of Sputnik “Vida” (its acronym stands for Immunization Vaccine for Argentine Development) was ready on June 18, 55 days ago, according to the Richmond laboratory itself. They were 448,625 doses of component 1. A sample was sent to the Gamaleya Institute for approval.
The main problem that slows down availability is linked to authorization deadlines. “Russia is receiving batch samples from different countries to approve and administrative efficiency is not the best,” explained a source linked to the manufacturing chain.
Upon its return, the sample must also obtain the permission of the ANMAT, although this step is practically automatic. The entire circuit embeds the process in a necessary amount of security and trust, but the length of the deadlines has made what is generated lose specific weight in urgency.
The story germinated in April – the seed was planted in February – when Richmond finished the first sample vaccines for Gamaleya to approve. On April 20, Vizzotti and Presidential Advisor Cecilia Nicolini held that initial achievement with a photo along with Richmond CEO Marcelo Figueiras.
On June 8, Figueiras went to the Chamber of Deputies and said that he hoped to produce 5 million vaccines per month. On June 11, just two months ago, he pressed the button on the machine that started the production process at MR Pharma’s outsourced plant in Tortuguitas.
As Figueiras stated at the time, he was betting that in three weeks, from that moment on, the State had the first lots available. Miscalculated. He did not count on the times of the Russian bureaucracy to be incompatible with the immunity needs of Argentina.
President Alberto Fernández with Figueiras, during a visit to Richmond in February. Photo: Presidency
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On June 18, those first vaccines were sent to Russia to be checked. On the same day Richmond advertised the packaging of the vernacular doses. Red color, second doses. On July 2, they finished packing other 550,000 doses of component 1, for a total of 998,625.
Four days later, on July 6, the packaging and formulation of 153,441 units of component 2. On July 15, one day after Argentina surpassed 100,000 deaths from Covid in the records, the Gamaleya Institute approved that first batch of second doses of Sputnik “Life”.
On July 28 they arrived in the country 500 liters more of the second component antigen, which allowed the completion of other 760 thousand doses. “They will be available to our people shortly,” the laboratory announced again, as the backlog of finished vaccines grew.
Where are those vaccines? A Richmond source explained that they remain frozen in the warehouse of Andreani, a company in charge of distributing them when the Ministry of Health has it. “There are 1.2 million first doses there and 150 thousand second ones already authorized by Russia,” they explained to Clarion.
In addition to the laboratory and the Government, two other key players of this story are the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Gamaleya Institute. The relationship between those two actors, economic and scientificIt would not be the most oiled to optimize times.
On August 3, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Richmond assured that during this month Argentina will have 3 million second doses from Sputnik packed here. Of that total, in Richmond they assure that they already have facts 2.3 million. The problem is that almost everything is still waiting for authorization.
That same August 3, it was reported that last week the first 150 thousand vaccines. But in fact it was postponed. The Government affirmed this last Monday that “in the next few days” Richmond would present the first batch released.
From Richmond they respond that the doses are indeed available. Finally, in the next few hours there would be signs that the wheel of distribution begins to turn, which would show that the bureaucratic and dialectical swamp is not only Russian.
The participation of Figueiras in the informative session of the laboratories in the Congress, on June 8.
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This Tuesday it was unofficially revealed that the Ministry of Health would begin to distribute those first 150 thousand second doses in the provinces. This is, 26 days later approval in Russia. Although there was no official confirmation and the provinces consulted had no information in this regard.
In any case, it would be a testimonial number, marginal for health purposes. 10,500 doses would correspond to the City; to the Province, 57 thousand. But would serve Richmond and the Government to justify the entry of the “Argentine vaccines” to the circuit, waiting for Russia to approve more batches.
Minister Vizzotti confirmed that there are already produced in the country 1 million doses with quality control passed and 2.7 million that they will be released “from August.” The figures come and go, they generate some confusion and the balance for now is that there are no Argentine doses applied.
The official did not explain why the distribution of the already authorized vaccines has not started earlier. A clue could be found in that most of that stock is component 1 and the priority now, as said, is complete the schedules with second doses.
Vizzotti also said that they are working with the ANMAT and the Gamaleya Institute with the objective that “in the medium term” the doses do not have to be sent to Russia to comply with the rigorous check. Bureaucratic modification, if achieved, should speed up times in the future.
The Government also announced on Monday the arrival for the course of this week of another 500 liters of antigen for the packaging of new doses of component 2. Meanwhile, in the last 10 days they arrived in the country 600 thousand doses of component 2, already packed in Russia.
On Tuesday, Richmond celebrated by parallel rope the first milestone of its great bet: the tender of the financial trust Proyecto Vida, for the construction of a biotech drug plant. As announced, “it will be operating next year.” It is not yet clear in which month.
However, the new Richmond plant would allow – once in operation – the emancipation of the Sputnik “Life”, with its complete manufacturing in Argentina without having to depend on the active principle being sent and then the final result blessed, in a timely manner, there in Moscow.
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