Vaccines, because the EU will focus only on Pfizer and Moderna
The EU Commission may not renew the purchase contracts for Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, preferring Pfizer and Moderna mRna ones
Only Pfizer and Moderna.
After the stop & go of Astrazeneca, and the doubts of recent days about Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine, Europe could hijack the vaccination campaign of the Member States on mRna vaccines only, i.e. on Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna vaccines (the two approved by Ema).
THE INTENTIONS OF THE EU
The European Commission, according to the rumors of Ansa , which has heard qualified Italian sources, in the coming months, could remind only mRna vaccines to defeat Sars-Cov-2, no longer renewing the contracts for the purchase of vaccines a viral vector, as already revealed by La Stampa .
ADVANCES BY MARIO DRAGHI
The European intentions seem to be anticipated (and confirmed) also by the words of Mario Draghi, who, referring to the new contracts, also on the new vaccines arriving, including that of Reithera, states that "the EU will not replicate the error of signing contracts without real guarantees ".
WHY IS THE EU PUSHING ON PFIZER AND MODERN?
The choice of the EU comes after the cases of thrombosis reported following vaccinations with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The administration of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Italian Irbm, has been suspended in recent weeks in several European countries pending the pronouncement of the EMA. The inoculation is restarted because the European Medicines Agency believes that the "overall benefit-risk ratio remains positive", but at the same time finds "a possible link with very rare cases of unusual thrombi associated with low platelet levels".
The vaccine developed by Janssen, of Johnson & Johnson, has been blocked in the US following some cases of blood clots: FDA and CDC are evaluating the safety of the vaccine.
HOW VIRAL VECTOR VACCINES WORK
The two vaccines, that of Astrazeneca and Janssen, share technology: they are viral vector vaccines. These drugs use a virus, usually an incompetent adenovirus for replication, to carry the sequence of the genetic code that codes for the spike protein into the cell.
OTHER VIRAL VECTOR VACCINES
The Russian vaccine, subjected to EMA rolling review, is also a viral vector. Same technology also for that of Reithera, developed in collaboration with Spallanzani of Rome, and for that of the French Valneva.
HOW AD MRNA VACCINES WORK
The functioning of mRna vaccines is different: drugs of this type, explains Ema , contain a molecule called mRNA bearing the instructions for the production of the spike protein. It is a protein that is present on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and which it needs to enter the body's cells. When a person is vaccinated, some of their cells will read the mRNA instructions and temporarily produce the spike protein. The vaccinated person's immune system, thus recognizing this protein as foreign, will produce antibodies and activate T cells (white blood cells) to attack it.
OTHER VACCINES AD MRNA
In addition to Pfizer and Moderna, the Curevax vaccine is also expected to arrive in the coming weeks. One of the vaccines being developed by the French company Sanofi is also based on mRna technology.
THE ANALYSIS OF THE SUN 24 HOURS
"The EU Agency still wants to go there with lead feet because now not only the J&J vaccine is being discussed, but the mechanism of all those who use the viral vector, the influenza adenovirus that carries the spike protein and activates the reaction of the immune system, and therefore AstraZeneca (but also the vaccine made in Italy Reithera). Of particular concern is the lowering of blood platelets which paradoxically should cause bleeding rather than thrombosis. And this is being investigated ”, Il Sole 24 Ore wrote today.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/vaccini-perche-lue-puntera-solo-su-pfizer-e-moderna/ on Thu, 15 Apr 2021 07:42:07 +0000.