The European Union has defeated Britain and the United States in the shooting race, but in recent weeks the speed of vaccines has accelerated considerably.
Ugur Sahin, whose company developed the first COVID-19 vaccine widely approved with its U. S. spouse Pfizer, predicted that “50-60% of the population will have won the vaccine” until the end of June, when any easing of pandemic restrictions would have a major impact. share of the population.
He cited studies in Israel, which stores medical knowledge about his vaccination crusade with Pfizer, which appears that other people who have been vaccinated rarely become seriously ill and are much less likely to transmit the virus to others.
Sahin warned that Europe could achieve collective immunity “by July, by August,” but warned that young people would remain at risk, as the vaccine has so far only been approved for others over the age of 16. suffers from serious illnesses or long-term effects.
While the precise threshold required for this critical point of vaccination remains a topic of discussion, experts estimate that a point above 70% would particularly disrupt coronavirus transmission within a population.
The BioNTech vaccine represents a significant portion of the doses administered in North America, where it is more known as the Pfizer vaccine, and in the EU, it is about to place a massive multi-year order of 1. 8 billion doses in the coming days. . .
Sahin said knowledge from other people who won the vaccine shows that the immune reaction weakens over time and that a third vaccine is likely to be needed.
Studies show that the efficacy of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine from 95% to about 91% after six months, he said.
“As a result, we want a third blow to coverage of the vaccine at almost 100%,” Sahin told reporters in a video call.
Vaccine recipients lately get a moment dose 3 weeks after the first injection, some countries have longer intervals. Sahin warned that the third should be given nine to 12 months after the first injection.
“And then I think it’s probably obligatory to receive some other reminder every year or maybe every 18 months,” he said.
Concerns have been expressed that existing vaccines may be less effective in the face of new variants of the virus that are emerging lately in other parts of the world.
Sahin said BioNTech had tested his vaccine as opposed to more than 30 variants, adding the now dominant one first detected in Britain, and discovered that firing triggers an intelligent immune reaction opposite almost everyone in the lab. It was still enough, he said, without offering accurate figures.
When asked about the new variant first detected in India, Sahin said the effectiveness of the vaccine is opposed to still being studied.
“But the Indian variant has mutations that we’ve studied in the past and that oppose what our vaccine also works, so I’m sure of that too,” he said.
“The vaccine is built quite intelligently and the bulwark will remain. I’m convinced of that,” Sahin. Si the wall is going to be strengthened again, we will. I’m worried. “
The company is investigating reports of heart inflammation in others who have won the vaccine in Israel, but so far has not noticed any knowledge indicating an increased risk, Sahin said. Nearly five million people in Israel have been vaccinated, basically with BioNTech/Pfizer Vaccine, which gives it one of the highest coverages in the world.
“We take everything we hear very seriously,” Sahin said. “The ultimate precept in drug progression is not to harm. “
BioNTech expects approval in July for its vaccine to be used in China, where it is cooperating with Fosun Pharma, he said.
Meanwhile, BioNTech and Pfizer are working with other brands to boost mNS production, as global demand still exceeds supply.
“When we started 2021, our purpose was to produce 1. 3 billion doses, and now we’ve raised it to 3 billion doses,” sahin said, praising pharmaceutical giants like Novartis, Sanofi and Baxter for their involvement in the effort.
Your company is in talks to create production facilities in Asia, South America and Africa, and may also consider special licenses for other “really competent” brands to bring the global source of vaccines to life,” Sahin said.
“We don’t need to have a poor quality vaccine in Africa,” he added, rejecting advice that the prescription can be made to be obtained for free.
Against the complaint that the European Union had ruined its vaccine procurement process, Sahin said that the 27-nation bloc deserved to be completed by coordinating the simultaneous delivery of the first batches to all Member States at the end of December.
“Europeans can be proud to have discovered a fair solution,” he said, adding that the bloc also exports a lot of doses elsewhere.
“It doesn’t help if Europeans are and other countries, where the virus is still wreaking havoc, continue to produce new variants,” he said.
Sahin founded BioNTech in 2008 with his wife, scientist Ozlem Tureci. Together, they went from cancer studies to the progression of a coronavirus vaccine in early 2020 and contacted Pfizer, who had the experience for large-scale clinical trials.
The 55-year-old man, whose circle of relatives emigrated from Turkey to Germany at the age of 4, told members of the German foreign press agreement VAP that it was “a very good feeling” to listen more and more to other people able to do so. Despite seeing her enjoys coming back after getting vaccinated with her company’s vaccine.
Sahin said he expected a “new normal” soon, where “you can move freely and to the maximum other people have very intelligent immune protection” against the virus.
Still, some other people wouldn’t need to get vaccinated or have a weakened immune formula “and we also have to consider those other people,” he said.
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