New milestone reached for the fight against the pandemic: the FDA, the US drug agency, has approved the Moderna vaccine, after the green light for Pfizer’s. As a result, the green light will arrive in other countries of the world, including that of the European agency EMA which should endorse the authorization at the meeting on January 6. Next Monday the same EMA should give the green light to Pfizer. Meanwhile, Switzerland preceded it by authorizing the Pfizer vaccine and announcing that the vaccination campaign will start in the coming days, with a free and no obligation offer. And while the whole world begins to breathe a sigh of relief with the hope that the start of vaccination campaigns can finally reverse the course of the pandemic, the news of the English varante is worrying. The WHO is thinking about the data but “for the moment there is no evidence that this variant of the Covid virus will affect the effectiveness of vaccines. In any case, we need to increase research to understand it »commented Giuseppe Ippolito, scientific director of the Spallanzani Hospital for Infectious Diseases. The two drug industries have already been boosting production engines for weeks. “We remain focused on upgrading production to help protect as many people as possible from this terrible disease,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive soon after the FDA decision.
The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for distribution will cover use in persons 18 years of age or older. Delivery to the US government will begin immediately, the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, more data will continue to be collected and the company intends to apply for a Biologics License Application to obtain a full license in the United States in 2021. “I am proud of what the Moderna team has achieved in collaboration with our partners. We were able – added Bancel – to create and produce Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19 in 11 months, from genome sequence to authorization, advancing in clinical development with a Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 study. with 30,000 participants “.
Meanwhile, China will begin administering Covid-19 vaccines to key groups in this winter-spring period, an official from the National Health Commission (NHC) in Beijing said today. In a two-stage vaccination campaign, vaccines will first be administered to priority groups, including those engaged in handling imported cold chain products and people working in areas such as port inspection and quarantine, aviation, public transportation, the fresh market, medicine, treatment and disease control, said Cui Gang, an official from the NHC’s disease control department, said at a news conference. The vaccination program will also cover those who intend to work or study in countries and regions with medium or high risks of exposure to the virus, Cui added. This will help ease the pressure on China to prevent and control imported Covid-19 cases and reduce the risks of domestic outbreaks of the epidemic, Cui said.
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