LettersCoronavirus vaccines offer hope, but can developing countries surmount cost and logistical hurdles?

Name: Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says
Uploaded: 2020-11-16T04:55:08.000Z
Duration: 2 min 30 s
Description: Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says

Pfizer’s vaccine, for example, requires ultra-cold storage facilities that many developing countries may not have. Moreover, the cost of the vaccine is also an impediment.

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A woman wearing a mask walks by graffiti art on a roadside wall in Bangalore India on May 15. India’s entire US$7 billion vaccine budget would buy enough Pfizer doses for less than a sixth of its population. Photo: EPA-EFE

Letters

Published: 12:55pm, 16 Nov 2020Updated: 12:55pm, 16 Nov 2020

Developing countries need to urgently audit their capabilities in cold storage, transport and other infrastructure to be able to safely store and distribute Covid-19 vaccines (“Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says”, November 9). When the coronavirus first hit the world, many countries found themselves short of hospital beds, ventilators and other equipment. They should not be caught short this time around when it comes to the crucial business of vaccine storage and distribution.

We may see vaccines launched by several companies between December this year and the second quarter of 2021. Most of the vaccines will have prescribed storage temperatures, thawing protocols and expiry dates.

For instance, the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE involves deep-freeze airport warehouses, refrigerated transport vehicles and cold storage facilities across towns and villages (“Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine offers little hope to Indians without power and cold storage”, November 12). At the vaccination centres, the shots have to be thawed from minus 70 degrees Celsius to 2-8 degrees in refrigerators. Then, they have to be injected within five days. A month later, a second shot needs to be administered.

The European Union has finalised a deal to buy 300 million doses, for its population of 450 million. Germany could be one of the first Western countries to start immunising its population using this vaccine. The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada have also signed deals for the vaccine with Pfizer and BioNTech. The US has placed an initial order for 100 million doses at a price of US$1.95 billion and has the option of acquiring up to 500 million more doses. Even smaller countries such as Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica have deals in place.

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Pfizer coronavirus vaccine more than 90 per cent effective, US drug maker says

However, at a cost of nearly US$40 per person for the two-dose regimen, the Pfizer vaccine may be unaffordable for many developing countries. India, for example, has a budget of just US$7 billion, which, based on the US deal, would buy it almost 360 million doses, enough for only about 180 million vaccinations – or 13 per cent of its population. So, efforts to find more cost-effective vaccines must continue on a war footing.

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Pfizer’s vaccine, for example, requires ultra-cold storage facilities that many developing countries may not have. Moreover, the cost of the vaccine is also an impediment.

Pfizer’s vaccine, for example, requires ultra-cold storage facilities that many developing countries may not have. Moreover, the cost of the vaccine is also an impediment.