After the pharmaceutical giant announced that the effectiveness of the vaccine it had developed was about 90 percent, we turned to a number of experts to answer the most intriguing questions. • How many steps remain on the road to final approval and what ties will Israel have to make?
• All the answers - inside
Pfizer issued a press release today (Monday) stating that in the first results of its corona vaccine, 90 percent immunity was obtained.
The publication aroused great interest in the world and great optimism after an international struggle of almost a year with the plague that severely damaged health and the economy.
Archive photo: Pfizer
It is important to note that these are still the first results of the clinical study and soon two more stages will be published which will deal with the safety and availability of the vaccine.
Following the completion of these publications, it appears that the company will apply this month for accelerated approval of the vaccine by the FDA, ahead of the start of its worldwide distribution.
Despite the positive news, it is important to emphasize that Pfizer does not have an agreement to distribute its vaccine with the State of Israel, in contrast to other companies.
In light of this, we turned to experts to understand when and how the company's corona vaccine will arrive in Israel.
However, before we present their answers in detail, it is important to note that it is still possible for Israel to reach an agreement with the company in a way that will promote it in line for vaccination.
This determination can be based on the fact that in the past there were contacts between the Ministry of Health and the therapy company, but the contacts have not yet matured, unlike the US and the UK who have already signed agreements with it.
Pfizer has also signed an agreement with international vaccination organizations that unite many countries, including Israel.
In any case, by the end of the year, the company will have about 100 million vaccine doses and by the end of 2021 it will have about 1.3 billion, so that in the end vaccine doses will in any case reach Israel as well.
"The vaccine will arrive in Israel during 2021"
Prof. Daniel Shepshalovich, Deputy Director of the Internal Medicine Department I (Corona), at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, a vaccine expert who has published groundbreaking research in the field of vaccine efficacy around the world, says in an interview with Israel Today that To the press. We have to wait longer for the scientific publication itself. "
"What we have at the moment is not the scientific research. Pfizer wanted to run and tell that she succeeded, and that is completely understandable, but the vaccine itself is not quite over yet. How much of a success it will be - we will know later, when the company publishes everything it is She did. "
However the expert adds that "these are fantastic results from a serious company. What will happen now is that the FDA will carry out a two-month follow-up to see that there are no side effects in those who have undergone the clinical trial and then the company will get an emergency license to start mass production of the vaccine."
And what does that mean for us?
"Basically by the end of 2020 the company said it would only be able to produce a few tens of millions of dishes - which is nothing. By the end of 2021 it will already produce more than a billion dishes and I guess over the next year these dishes will arrive in the country. Modern companies, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, so I assume that in the coming weeks they will also publish results and then it will be possible to compare the vaccines and also receive vaccines from the companies with which Israel has signed a contract.
"In any case, Pfizer will not receive the vaccine immediately because she has to abide by the agreements and give to whoever she signed with. In any case, later on there will be more companies that will provide the vaccine, which will lead to different pricing and competition so next year I appreciate seeing the vaccine in the country."
In the summary, Prof. Shepshalovitz notes that "we should not stress because we do not have an agreement with Pfizer, because there will be more vaccines and everyone will be good.
"Israel needs to activate the Jewish mind and its connections"
Professor Eitan Friedman, an expert in internal medicine and medical genetics, founder and director of the Oncogenetics Unit (detection of genetic-hereditary risk factors for cancer) at the Geneva Institute at Sheba Hospital and a full professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Tel Aviv University, explains that even after There is still another step that needs to go through after getting the vaccine approval.
"First, what's actually happening right now is that the company has finished vaccinating tens of thousands of people and has shown that they are not re-infected with the disease, even though they are in red areas. It also turned out that there are no serious side effects and the vaccine is safe. Therefore the company will submit the vaccine to FDA approval." His.
"These are very tough bodies that will test the company's results for a few weeks. After that, an accelerated procedure called EUA will be approved, because it is a global epidemic. The company will then start producing vaccines for countries that signed a contract. Check with tens and hundreds of millions of people, who did not miss a side effect that is only revealed in a larger amount than the number of people currently being examined. "
And what should Israel do, since we do not have an agreement with society?
"Once it is clear that it is a good vaccine, then Israel must activate the Jewish mind and its connections and reach that we will have vaccine doses for the risk groups, ie about 15-20 percent of the population who are very threatened by this vaccine. Once we have this amount, Israel's situation will improve. Miracles. "
"Do not be alarmed that we did not sign with Pfizer - there will be more vaccines"
Prof. Galia Grisero-Suan, an expert in pediatrics and infectious diseases, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit at Dana-Duak Children's Hospital, is happy about Pfizer's vaccine but reassures and says "there will be more vaccines, as in the case of the papilloma virus. There will be more options for some companies here, so there is no need to stress. "