The three types of vaccines against the Covid-19 virus contracted directly by the country so far, such as Pfizer, Astrazeneca and the coronavac of the Chinese company Sinovac, have levels of efficacy between 50 and 95%, which indicates that these percentages reduce the risk of contracting the virus among those vaccinated
Meanwhile, vaccine specialists and medical leaders welcomed yesterday the announcement made by the President that the country has purchased 768,000 doses of coronavac vaccine from the Chinese private company Sinovac, among others contracted with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
The country is also on the list to receive these and other types of vaccines through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) through the Covax mechanism.
Asked about the Sinovac vaccine, the president of the Dominican Vaccination Society, Dr. José Brea del Castillo, explained that the coronavac vaccine from Sinovac was applied with very safe results.
He explained that various efficacy studies carried out in the countries where it is applied give results of 63, 50 and 91%, but I agree that it practically protects 100% of those vaccinated, so that they do not end up being hospitalized or seriously , nor enters intensive care without death.
The advantages of the vaccine
The vaccinologist points out that the arrival of the Chinese vaccine, which is expected to be in the next two weeks, will greatly help reduce anxiety and support the vaccination plan.
Among the benefits of this vaccine, he mentioned: the fact that its refrigeration is from two to eight degrees, which is a cold chain that the country has at the national level; It comes in a single or single dose per bottle, which means there will be minimal human error and the waste or loss of the vaccine; has very low side effects, 1 to 2%, and there are no reports of serious side effects.
To this is added, he points out, that it is easy to store, refrigerate and apply. He explained that it is a Chinese company that has been manufacturing vaccines for 20 years, and coronavac is currently applied in Indonesia, Turkey, China, Brazil and Chile, but that it has already been acquired by Uruguay and Colombia, while Mexico is just approved.
Vaccination plan
CMD does not know the plan, but is ready to support
Asked about Sinovac’s birth and the Dominican government’s announcement that it would provide details of the vaccination plan to be implemented in the country next Monday, the president of the Dominican College of Physicians (CMD), Waldo Suero, said the union did not know any details.
“They do not know the plan that will be announced, but we are always ready to serve the nation, the government,” Suero said, indicating that they have not been called for Monday and have no knowledge of the plan.
With regard to the purchase of the coronavac vaccine, Dr Suero emphasized that they were opposed to any vaccine and encouraged the Government to purchase all approved vaccines.
However, he noted that Sinovac studies indicate that it is not as effective as Sputnik5, Moderna and Pfizer.
He therefore reiterated his suggestion that, in sectors that are more exposed to the virus, such as those operating on the front line, the vaccine applied is the most effective.
According to studies, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic manifestations of the virus and those of Pfizer / BioNTech and, respectively, 95% and Moderna 94.1%. 70% of Oxford University and AstraZeneca and Sinovac range from 50 to 91% in various studies
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There is experience in these processes
Vaccine and bioethics.
When they participated in the bioethical dialogue on the vaccination process against Covid-19 in the country organized by the National Bioethics Commission (CNB-RD), the experts on this topic highlighted the country’s experience in managing vaccination processes.
Dr. Daphne Arbaje stressed the need to generate sufficient data and records to assess the effectiveness of vaccines over time.