Paula galinsky
07/27/2021 10:24 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 07/27/2021 10:24 AM
The Ministry of Health of the Nation has already announced that
1.8 million doses of Moderna
against the coronavirus, which are part of the 3.5 million that the United States donated to Argentina, will be destined to vaccinate about 900 thousand adolescents from between 12 and 17 years considered “at risk”.
The question is
what will happen to the remaining 1.7 million doses
.
Specialists consulted by Clarín explain what is the best way to
take advantage
of
vaccines
in this context.
“We must aim to protect those people who tend to have a greater chance of ending up hospitalized or even dying from Covid-19.
We have
many older people who did not receive the second dose of Sputnik V
and we know that completing the schemes is essential before the arrival of the
Delta variant
”,
infectologist
Eduardo López
, head of the Department of Medicine at Hospital Gutiérrez and member of the committee
, tells
Clarín
who advises the President.
It clarifies that they cannot be administered until
studies
that demonstrate considerable levels of
safety and efficacy are carried out
to complete the vaccination of those who have already received the first dose of the vaccine from the Gamaleya Institute of Russia.
In that they are already advancing, as confirmed this Monday by the Ministry of Health of the Nation: they are
going to include Moderna in the investigation
that seeks to analyze the effects of the
combination
of different vaccines.
Moderna's vaccine was recommended for authorization in pediatric use in Europe.
“There are already experiences in Europe with one dose of AstraZeneca and another of a Messenger RNA vaccine, both with Pfizer and Moderna.
It was tested in
England, Spain and Germany
and it was shown that when combining them a
higher antibody titer
was achieved
than
that obtained with two doses of AstraZeneca ”, says López, who cites a publication in the scientific journal
Nature
in July and recalls the vaccination of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who received a dose of AstraZeneca and another of Moderna.
This is why he
expects good results when testing Sputnik V with Moderna
.
"Sputnik is a vaccine based on a non-replicative viral vector, that is, adenovirus, like AstraZeneca," he says.
In both cases, this adenovirus is used as a "carrier of the genetic material of the coronavirus" so that it expresses the famous protein S (from which the virus binds to cells and infects the person) and thus the organism recognizes and generates it antibodies against it.
"The difference is that in Sputnik a human adenovirus is used and in the Astrazeneca vaccine, the adenovirus is from chimpanzee", the expert points out.
López assures that beyond the possibility of homologating AstraZeneca and Sputnik, we must wait for the result of the heterologous vaccine studies and that, for that, it
will be necessary to wait 28 days
.
“Antibodies are
not generated immediately
.
You have to think that a person who receives the Moderna vaccine today as a second dose of Sputnik will begin to generate immunity at 14 days.
The results should be read again at 28 and then at 45. But
with the details of the 28th, decisions can be started
”, says López.
Consulted by this newspaper, it emphasizes that it
is better to wait those 28 days than to use the doses today
for another group.
"We cannot vaccinate children under 12 years of age with risk factors because there are no studies on the use in this population of a Messenger RNA vaccine, that is, from Moderna or Pfizer," explains López, who is a pediatric infectologist.
Moderna doses will begin to be used to vaccinate boys between the ages of 12 and 17 with comorbidities.
And he adds: "In China they are applying Sinopharm to children from 3 years old but there are no published studies about it, just a statement from the developer."
It also rules out the possibility of applying it to people
over 12 without comorbidities
.
“There are about 4.2 million adolescents, 8.4 million doses would be needed.
Furthermore, they do not belong to the most vulnerable segment.
The problem today is among those who are over 50, they received component 1 of Sputnik V and have been waiting for 2 for a long time ”, he adds.
In this situation there are
almost 7 million people in Argentina
.
Of this group, more than 3 million have already exceeded the three-month deadline, which was the maximum suggested interval.
"Put the focus on the missing"
Arnaldo Casiró, head of the Infectious Diseases service at Hospital Álvarez, agrees with López on the destination of the 1.7 million doses.
"There is
no doubt that
they have to go to those who received the first Sputnik V
.
There are people over 75 years of age waiting, they are
people who are partially unprotected
”, he warns.
"Getting volunteers for the trial is not going to be a problem, the point is that from the moment of inoculation with Moderna as a second dose we will have to wait 28 days to know how effective it is," he highlights.
And he adds: “It is probable that the conclusions of the
combination of Sputnik V with AstraZeneca and Sinopharm will come before
.
If any of them show good results, those that have expired will be vaccinated with any of these vaccines as a second dose.
The Moderna will remain for a month ”.
Regarding the option of using them as a second dose of AstraZeneca, he says that "it does not make sense."
"We
have to focus on the gap we have today
, which has to do with component 2 of Sputnik V," he confirms.
“In the future we will surely combine AstraZeneca with Moderna, when we have variety and more doses.
Now we
have to act before the emergency
”, he remarks.
This is one of the issues that will probably be debated this Tuesday in the framework of a new
meeting of the Federal Health Council (Cofesa)
, in which the ministers of health from all over the country will participate.
At that meeting, details will also be provided on the pathologies and other conditions of vulnerability that will be taken into account to define which adolescents will be part of the first 900,000 immunized with Moderna.
MG
Look also
Clinical trials begin in Russia for the combination of Sputnik V vaccines with those of AstraZeneca
Include Moderna Doses in Vaccine Combination Study
How will the vaccination strategy of boys between 12 and 17 years old against Covid be with Moderna
