Argentina and Mexico will produce the Oxford vaccine 1:07
(CNN Spanish) –– The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, announced this Wednesday that Mexico and his country will produce the vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory and the University of Oxford.
What was the ad?
In a press conference with the Minister of Health, Ginés González García, and the Secretary of Access to Health, Carla Vizzotti, Fernández said that the Latin American production of the vaccine will be in charge of Argentina and Mexico, which "will allow timely and efficient access for all countries in the region.
"This puts Argentina in a place of tranquility, of being able to have the vaccine in a timely manner when we need it and in sufficient quantity to be able to cover the demand immediately," said the Argentine president.
AstraZeneca and the Carlos Slim Foundation reported in a statement that they had reached an agreement to "contribute to production in Argentina and Mexico, and distribution without economic benefit in Latin America."
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How many doses will be produced?
According to the announcement by the Argentine presidency, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations, AstraZeneca and the Carlos Slim Foundation, the agreement will lead to the production of "between 150 and 250 million doses for Latin America, except Brazil."
The joint statement by AstraZeneca and the Carlos Slim Foundation explained that Brazil is excluded from the agreement as "it will be covered by the AstraZeneca agreement with the Brazilian government announced last June."
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At what stage is the vaccine?
The vaccine has not yet been approved, but it is in phase 3, which, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), means that it passed phase 1, in which the vaccine is tested in an experimental stage in a small number of people, generally less than 100 adults, and phase 2, in which the vaccine was already considered safe in phase 1, so it is tested in a larger group, generally between 200 and 500 people.
Phase 3 "aims to more fully assess safety and efficacy," whereby the vaccine trial can include hundreds to thousands of people in one or more countries.
"In general (phase 3) is the step prior to the approval of a vaccine," explains PAHO.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently at least 25 covid-19 vaccines in clinical trials. Another 139 candidates are still in the preclinical stages.
Which have been the results?
According to Dr. Elmer Huerta, specialist in Public Health and contributor to CNN en Español, in the Coronavirus: Reality vs. Fiction, this vaccine "uses a virus from the cold of chimpanzees into which segments of the new coronavirus have been inserted."
According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, as Dr. Huerta explains, "the vaccine was able to stimulate both types of immunity: the production of antibodies at 28 days and of memory cells at 14 days."
Side effects were minimal, including pain at the injection site, fatigue, and headache and fever.
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When will the vaccine be ready?
(AP Photo / Alastair Grant, File)
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford would be ready by the first half of 2021.
How much would it cost?
The vaccine would cost between US $ 3 and US $ 4 per dose.
With information from Agustín Milic, Fidel Gutiérrez and Jacqueline Howard.
AstraZenecaCoronavirus Vaccine
