08/11/2021 3:44 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 08/11/2021 3:44 PM
The Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, said on Wednesday that the Government has the expectation of "advancing in the contract with Pfizer" to be
able to vaccinate all adolescents between 12 and 17 years old
.
Currently only those with comorbidities are being inoculated.
"Argentina is one of the few countries that is vaccinating minors between the ages of 12 and 17 with comorbidities, and
we expect to advance the contract with Pfizer
and extend it to the entire population from 12 to 17 years old," revealed the head of the health portfolio in dialogue with
Radio 10
.
He also said that he is
"working with China"
and that on Tuesday there was a meeting with authorities of the United Arab Emirates because they "have clinical trials in pediatrics", they have already authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine and ask " that they share that information "to be able to evaluate
" if vaccination can be expanded at these ages
.
"
In Argentina, the
Moderna
vaccine is being applied
to minors, between 12 and 17 years old, who have comorbidities.
This vaccine and that of Pfizer are among the few authorized in the world to inoculate those under 18 years of age.
Health Minister Carla Vizzotti received the Moderna vaccine as a second dose, after having received the first component of Sputnik V. Photo: Ministry of Health
With regard to the drug from the Pfizer laboratory, on July 27 it was Minister Vizzotti herself who confirmed an agreement for the arrival of 20 million vaccines, after more than a year of back and forth in the negotiations.
"The delivery will be
between the final agreement with Pfizer and December
. It is an important authorization that the laboratory has to apply to adolescents between 12 and 17 years old, to be able to expand that age range and to continue working on everything that means accelerating vaccination in 2021 and think about the 2022 strategy, "said the minister at the time.
From the beginning, the government's idea was to reserve those Pfizer vaccines exclusively for the youngest, although everything will depend on when that final agreement that Vizzotti mentioned will be.
Another focus that the minister touched in the radio interview was the supply of
Sputnik V
in the country.
He said they are working on three points.
The first of these is "that more vaccines arrive from Russia", then continue working with ANMAT to "accelerate the quality control process" that the Gamaleya Institute is doing of those produced in the Richmond laboratory and, finally, "advance with the interchangeability "of vaccines.
On that last point, he said that he woke up this Wednesday with "a little headache, a little fatigue and another little pain in the arm" after having received the Moderna vaccine yesterday
as a second dose alternative
, after having been inoculated with Sputnik component 1 102 days before.
"It is a combination that is safe and immunogenic," he said.
And he invited all those who have not yet been vaccinated, to do so.
"The focus of Argentina is to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate and build trust," he
remarked.
On the other hand, he assured that "thanks to the measures" that were taken in June "
today we do not have the Delta variant as predominant in our country
" and he took breast because Argentina is "in week 11 of decrease in cases, deaths and hospitalization in in the middle of the winter".
He also referred to the Argentine production and development vaccine projects and stated that they are working "on more than one" at the same time, with "clinical trials financed by the National State and public-private associations" thinking
"in the medium term."
"It is a political decision to invest in science and technology, not only in the transfer of vaccine technology developed by other countries, but also in advancing vaccines developed entirely in Argentina," he explained.
DD
Look also
War on the Delta variant in Italy: young people get mass vaccinated before going back to school
Chile is ahead of everyone: it already applies the third dose and prepares vaccination for boys between 3 and 12 years old