Months of mass vaccination are coming in Spain. “Vaccinate and vaccinate” this is the premise referred to by the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, with the arrival of spring and the arrival of large consignments of doses to our country.

April is the date that will be marked for the turning point in these vaccination campaigns and in fact, They already plan to recruit more professionals to speed up the process for the summer. In addition, new vaccines are already looming on the horizon that would join the three already approved for emergency use.

Of these three, Spain is participating in two of them, which are already being tested in hospitals and which are also being manufactured in different laboratories in our territory. As a whole, it is estimated that they can give Spain a total of 100 million extra doses for the vaccination of the entire population.

In fact, last summer they already speak of a third wave of mass vaccination to continue with the Government’s plans. Carolina Darias, Minister of Health, referred to March 8, “if everything goes well”, as the probable date for the authorization of a new vaccine. In this case it will be Janssen’s (whose parent is the giant Johnson & Johnson).

What is known about the Janssen vaccine?

The truth is this vaccine is in its last phase of studies and you already have an appointment with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval as emergency use.

After this appointment, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to authorize it for distribution on the continent, just as he did with the three that are already being used.

In fact, the EU has already committed some 400 million units (200 plus another 200 optional), of which, around 40 million would correspond to Spain for its population, according to reports The country.

Janssen’s vaccine, called Ad26.COV2-S, it has several advantages over those we already know. All volunteers are being treated with a single dose, so those 400 million doses would continue to vaccinate the same number of people, which would be a great advance to eradicate the coronavirus pandemic.

What’s more, Its simple maintenance is another of its strengths: it can last up to three months at refrigerator temperature and two years in freezing temperatures.

And the best, could be administered in people over 65 years of age, avoiding the problems of AstraZeneca, as it is being tested on 50,000 volunteers above that age range.

Using technology similar to AstraZeneca and Oxford, the effectiveness of the Janssen vaccine, as indicated by the most recent results, is established at a percentage of 66%, although it rises to 85% in the most severe cases of the disease.

The first figure is lowered because the test includes several thousand South Africans, so the South Africa variant would be more dose resistant.

“You cannot compare efficacy percentages between different vaccines,” recalls Dr. Alberto Borobia, coordinator of the clinical trials unit at the La Paz hospital in Madrid, hospital that is part of the trials with 30,000 symptomatic patients with 30% over 65 years.

Also, this vaccine will be produced in the Catalan pharmaceutical Reig Jofre, who will be in charge of the formulation, filling and packaging of the vaccine – they estimate a production of 250 million doses per year.

Novarax, the next to arrive

It will also be produced in Spain, Although the agreement for the distribution of this vaccine between the US biotech and the European Union has not yet arrived, although, as Reuters points out, “The talks have intensified”, so the contract could come next week.

The goal is for the pharmaceutical company to provide about 100 million doses and an equal amount optionally. Your authorization could arrive in April, adding to the massive vaccination that is already being planned.

The Novarax vaccine it would be a double dose, with an efficacy of 89% according to an ongoing trial in the UK. In these investigations, half of the patients carried the British variant, so it would be effective.

Not so much in the South African variant as the efficacy dropped to 60% in a parallel experiment in South Africa.

“Novavax’s is a protein-based vaccine that contains a novel adjuvant that is also its property,” says Andrés Fernández, executive director of the Zendal group, the O Porriño company, in Pontevedra, which is responsible for manufacturing the antigen for this vaccine with a different technology than the rest of the vaccines that are already being used.

CureVac, the third vaccine to arrive

Follow the messenger RNA technology, as well as Moderna and Pfizer, and it is planned that comes after the summer. Designed by a German biotechnology company, this vaccine has committed at least 405 million doses after an agreement with the EU, of which 10% would correspond to Spain.

In fact, this vaccine it is already being tested in our country with 3,000 patients in the Basque hospitals of Cruces and Donostia and the San Carlos Clinic in Madrid, who are part of a global trial.

It is also a double dose and its effectiveness is not yet known. Antonio Portolés, the principal investigator of the Madrid Clinic, commented in a talk with Globe Live Media that “it seeks to verify the immunogenicity of the vaccine, that is, the generation of neutralizing antibodies” against covid-19.

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