ROME. Therea hitch in the government vaccine plan is immediately a problem, a problem that does not depend on the choices of the government but which risks messing up at least the first months of the immunization program: the AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been authorized and the European Medicines Agency makes it known that it is “unlikely” that we will be able to give the green light in January, since the company “has not yet applied”.
Not a small problem for Italy, since, net of delays due to bad weather, most of the doses that should arrive in the first quarter of 2021 are precisely those of the antidote developed by the University of Oxford and Irbm di Pomezia and produced by AstraZeneca.
Italy has booked, for the next three months, 16 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 8.7 million Pfizer-BioNTech, the only one currently approved in the EU. Another 2 million vials are expected to come from Curevac and 1.3 million from Moderna. Overall, for the entire vaccination plan, the government booked 202 million doses, 53.8 from Johnson & Johnson, 40.3 from Astrazeneca, another 40.3 from Sanofi-Gsk, 30.2 from Curevac, 26.9 from Pfizer and 10.7 from Moderna. It is clear, in short, that the delay of Astrazeneca risks creating more than one problem. A government source explains: “It is obvious that this news creates some apprehension. Let’s see what will happen in the coming weeks, because London still seems willing to proceed with AstraZeneca. And if they get the okay, acceleration is possible in the EU as well. Otherwise we will have to intensify the purchases of the other vaccines … ».
The United Kingdom is actually betting everything on the Oxford vaccine, the government has bought 100 million doses and the green light from the British drug agency is expected in the next few days, however in time for the start of the vaccination campaign scheduled for on January 4th. The European Agency, on the other hand, would await clarification on methodological errors that would have been committed during the first phase of testing the vaccine.
“Certainly, the Italian government is already moving with the European institutions – assure executive sources – to guarantee the supply of the doses necessary to achieve herd immunity”. Yesterday, moreover, the president of the EU commission Ursula von der Leyen ran for cover and announced the purchase of another 100 million doses of the Pfizer drug “and according to the European agreements, 13% of each batch goes to Italy of vaccines purchased ‘. In fact, the extra doses of Pfizer could almost make up for AstraZeneca’s failure to arrive for the first trimester.
An additional problem just as the government was trying to quell the controversy about Italy’s alleged delays compared to other EU countries, and in particular compared to Germany, in the procurement of vaccines. Delays that the staff of Commissioner Domenico Arcuri strongly denies: “It is not true at all, tonight (yesterday, ed) the new Pfizer supply with 470 thousand doses will arrive in Italy, tomorrow morning (this morning, ed) will start delivery at the administration points, equal to 75% of the total, and the day after tomorrow (tomorrow, ed) we will complete the delivery in the remaining 25% ».
The hope, Arcuri suggests, adding that the Italians vaccinated are currently 8,361, is that there are no hitches with the regions, as has often happened in recent months: “We hope that they start making the” bites “as early as tomorrow afternoon (today , ed). So far, at least on the vaccine front, the regions have done well. They must continue like this ». The plan is proceeding, in short, hoping that the ok for the AstraZeneca vaccine will also arrive and that we do not have to rush to buy extra doses from other manufacturers.
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