04/02/2021 12:20
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 04/02/2021 12:20
Presidential advisor
Cecilia Nicolini
pointed out that the
"multivaccine strategy"
decided by President Alberto Fernández to face the coronavirus pandemic includes negotiations with
India and Cuba, and did not rule out that negotiations with the American pharmaceutical company continue
Pfizer,
"provided that the interests of Argentines are represented."
In dialogue with Radio La Red, Nicolini said that Argentina
is talking with all the producers
to whom it has access in this emergency situation, in which there are limitations in the availability of vaccines for the whole world.
It was in this context that he argued that "the Argentine government
is not closed to negotiating with Pfizer
", as long as "the interests of the Argentine people are cared for and represented."
The US pharmaceutical company had been one of the first to make contact with the national government and even carried out tests of its vaccine in Argentina, but then the negotiations
bogged down
and were suspended.
Regarding other options, Nicolini said that, "from the beginning, the President entrusted to have a
multivaccine strategy
", which implies "being able to speak with all pharmaceutical companies and sovereign states that can bring closer" doses for immunization against the coronavirus.
In this sense, Nicolini added, the country is looking for vaccines that "are
safe, effective
and available in
phase 3
".
Regarding Cuba, he said that, from the dialogues initiated, it is known that the production of the vaccine called
Soberana
has "many very hopeful advances" from the medical point of view and that the Caribbean country aspires to use it to inoculate its population and also, to "
export
" it.
Laboratory workers process Cuban vaccines against the coronavirus in Havana (Cuba).
Photo: EFE
The advisor explained that, before a possible arrival in Argentina, the Cuban vaccine or any that can be produced at any latitude, must demonstrate its
safety
and
efficacy
, be recommended by the local immunization committee and by the Anmat, and then obtain the permission of the Ministry of Health.
In the same vein, he said that they are in dialogue with India, but pointed out that the most important thing about the contracts is to reach
a possible "schedule" of deliveries
that includes not only this moment of emergency, but that goes further, because the pandemic "it will last a long time."
Asked about the costs of each formula, Nicolini said that
"each contract is different"
, that in "several advances are paid", and gave as an example the doses obtained by Argentina through the Covax mechanism, which "requires a payment" of that type to finance production.
The Covax mechanism is a global fund for the
development
and
procurement
of vaccines by countries, led by the Coalition for the Promotion of Innovations for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), the World Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Unicef, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
On the other hand, Nicolini confirmed that the costs of all the laboratories are "similar" and that what Argentina pays
is within the framework of what happens with the rest of the countries
.
Finally, regarding the meeting between the President and the head of the Buenos Aires Government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, which will be held this Saturday at Quinta de Olivos, Nicolini estimated that they will seek to evaluate a very dynamic situation, and that the intention is "to reach
a balance "that encourages care, without affecting the population
, but that prevents the health system from suffering complications.
With information from Télam.
LGP
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