The government hopes to speed up the vaccination process in January with the approval of new vaccines against COVID-19

The government hopes that more vaccines against COVID-19 will be approved by early 2021, so that about four to five possible antidotes against the virus will be used to immunize the population, ending the pandemic in Puerto Rico.

The first forecast was that by September of this year the “necessary” population would be immunized, said Irisa Cardona, Undersecretary of Health and José Reyes, Adjutant General of the National Guard. However, this process could be accelerated with the advent of more vaccines.

“The supply will increase in 2021. There are other vaccines in clinical trials, vaccines that could be approved in the next three months, so there is a range of options,” said Cardona.

It is public that AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax have vaccines in phase 3 studies, the final phase before seeking approval from the federal government. There are also other vaccines in more clinical trials.

This week, Johnson & Johnson announced that it has enrolled approximately 45,000 participants in the final phase of its vaccine study, which requires only one dose. The results are expected to be in late January and will file for Emergency Use Authorization (US) with the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February.

Meanwhile, a vaccine developed by Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca could be approved by the end of December and ready to be distributed in the UK. The same thing happened with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which was first approved in that country before being in the United States.

On the other hand, two of the three planned late-stage efficacy studies for the vaccine being developed by Novavax have been enrolled, and more than 20,000 participants have been dosed to date.

“The idea is that by the beginning of the year there will be not two, but four or five (vaccines against COVID-19). Many vaccines are needed to cover the world’s population. The more they are approved, that they are safe and effective, it helps the goal of vaccinating (more people) as soon as possible, ”said Dr. Víctor Ramos, President of the Medical College.

For now, the pediatrician noted that Moderna’s vaccines are expected to arrive in Puerto Rico this week. On Friday, the FDA approved the EUA for the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Health. Yesterday, General Gustave Perna, director of Operation Warp Speed, announced that shipments of this second vaccine to the US were being packaged in the United States to begin distribution today. Operation Warp Speed ​​is a public-private effort promoted by the federal government to accelerate the development, production and distribution of these vaccines.

Similarly, in Puerto Rico Phase 1-A of the vaccine is taking place, where it is administered to hospital staff, health professionals and institutionalized older adults. Cardona anticipated that this phase could last from four to eight weeks, depending on the number of vaccine supplies arriving in Puerto Rico.