PAHO hopeful about covid19 vaccine

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said there are successful signs with the covid19 vaccine trials and are hopeful that one would be available by the first quarter of 2021.

At a virtual update on the virus, PAHO assistant director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said this was, however, no reason to act carelessly as the virus remained a serious threat, killing hundreds of people daily across the world.

“Regardless of the shift of the impact of the virus in different regions, it remained a threat. The situation in Europe showed that even after controlling covid19 infections, countries experience a resurgence of the virus.

“We still do not have a vaccine, and countries should be ready to see a recurring outbreak and should be ready to act and employ best practices to stymie the spread.”

PAHO director of the department of communicable diseases and health analysis Dr Marcos Espinal said while the Food and Drug Association (FDA) authorised testing by Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation, there is no approved vaccine.

Earlier this week the company reported that a covid19 patient responded favourably to the vaccine, which was still in the clinical trial stages.

Espinal explained, “FDA has authorised the emergency use of a monoclonal antibody, it does not mean it is for approval. It is a preliminary approval based on several criteria and it cannot be used on every individual affected by covid19.”

PAHO also noted that developing countries in the meantime need to work on vaccine technology to the vaccine for when it becomes available.

Barbosa said, “There is no health system in South America, the Caribbean, the US or Europe that could be ready to handle those vaccines based on the chemical components. For them you need to have storage at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

“We are in the process with some financial institutions to strengthen the cold chains in the countries because any country in the world using the vaccine will have to implement this type of change or to acquire new storage units.

PAHO noted that the Caribbean region compared to other countries effectively curbed the virus from escalating to devastating proportions.

“In the Caribbean thanks to effective monitoring, counters such as contacting tracing to prevent spikes. Jamaica, Costa Rica and Argentina were doing very well.

“Tracing and monitoring are important because you can reduce and interrupt the spread the virus.”