Since the beginning of winter, local outbreaks have rebounded in many parts of the country. Although local governments have adopted corresponding epidemic prevention measures, the people still worry that the epidemic will return. In this situation, the development and use of the new crown vaccine has become the most concerned issue.
Recently, news came from the vaccine research and development of China and the United States at the same time, and the technology companies of the two countries announced huge progress in vaccine research and development almost simultaneously. As a result, some foreign media began to hype the topic of the Sino-US vaccine dispute. In this regard, this article focuses on the two fastest-advanced vaccines-the Cansino vaccine jointly developed by the team of Academician Chen Wei of the Academy of Military Medicine of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences and Cansino Bio, and the Pfizer vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Make detailed comparisons from multiple perspectives such as safety and effectiveness to see who will be the main force leading the world out of the epidemic crisis.
1 R&D progress
In the process of vaccine development, phase I clinical is mainly to observe safety indicators; phase II clinical is to observe immunogenicity and safety indicators; phase III clinical is mainly used in epidemic populations and epidemic areas to observe whether the vaccine can Preventing human infection is the observation of the protection rate. Therefore, the completion of Phase III clinical trials also indicates that the market is not far away.
2 Technology
CanSino vaccine uses adenovirus vector vaccine technology. The technical core of the adenovirus vaccine is to use the modified harmless adenovirus as a carrier. Like a truck, the D protein of the new coronavirus enters the human body with high safety.
Pfizer Vaccine is an mRNA nucleic acid vaccine. The advantage is that it can be quickly synthesized and edited, and the immunogenicity is controllable. The disadvantage is that the production cost is high and the production capacity is limited.
3 adverse reactions
Since July 2020, under the premise of voluntary, informed, and consent, my country has carried out emergency vaccination for high-risk exposure groups. At present, more than 1 million doses of new coronavirus vaccine emergency vaccination have been completed. After strict adverse reaction monitoring and follow-up observation, no serious adverse reactions occurred. In the same period, the inactivated vaccine for emergency use was carried out in Phase III clinical trials abroad, and a total of 75,000 people and 150,000 doses of people have been vaccinated. Research shows that there are no serious safety hazards.
An article on the top international medical journal NEJM on December 10, 2020 shows that within a short period of the injection of Pfizer vaccine, mild to moderate pain, fatigue and headaches will occur at the injection site, and the incidence of serious adverse events is low. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that four third-phase volunteers who received Pfizer vaccines developed Bell’s Palsy, or facial paralysis.
4 Transportation and storage conditions
How to store the vaccine after its development is also a matter of great concern, because it is related to the safety, convenience and accessibility of the vaccine. It can be known from the experimental data that has been published that Cansino vaccine can be stored stably at near normal temperature (between 2-8°C), and the required temperature is relatively common, which is easy to store and transport.
The Pfizer vaccine can only be stored at -70°C for 6 months, and at 2 to 8°C for 5 days. In contrast, Pfizer vaccines are more difficult to preserve than Cansino vaccines, and transportation and storage costs are also higher. The WHO said that Pfizer vaccines are “very promising” but face cold chain transportation challenges. According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, in order to be able to safely store the new crown vaccine developed by Pfizer, states, cities and hospitals in the United States have begun rushing to buy ultra-low temperature refrigeration equipment.
5 Output
The new crown pneumonia virus is sweeping the world. Regarding the results of the vaccine, not only its vaccination effect must be concerned, but its production capacity must also be paid attention to. Only by mass-produced vaccines can the epidemic be effectively prevented and controlled.
It is understood that the planned production capacity of Cansino vaccine is 100 million to 200 million doses per year, which is relatively large compared to other vaccines. According to a Reuters Chinese website on December 4, 2020, a Pfizer spokesperson said that the company is expected to produce 50 million doses of the new crown vaccine this year. This figure is lower than the previous 100 million dose target. Since two doses of Pfizer vaccine are required, it means that 50 million doses are enough for 25 million people.
According to estimates by experts from Johns Hopkins University, herd immunity requires 70% to 90% of the population to be immunized against the virus. Calculated based on the global population of 7.5 billion, taking into account that sometimes two doses of vaccines can only provide immunity. At least 10 billion doses of the new crown vaccine are needed. It can be seen that this will be a huge pressure and challenge for all vaccine companies.
6 Price
Is the vaccine expensive? Can ordinary people’s economy support it? This is also a concern of most people.
The relevant person in charge of Cansino said that there is no public price yet, but will pay attention to the attributes of vaccine public products, “it must be within the range acceptable to the public.” In the United States, Pfizer vaccine is priced at $19.5 per dose. Pricing strategies in other countries will consider factors such as quantity, pre-commitment, fairness and affordability principles.
7 Vaccine effect and applicable population
Pfizer and BioNTech announced in the New England Journal of Medicine that their vaccine is 95% effective for people 16 years of age or older in a phase III clinical trial.
There are currently no relevant results of CanSino Vaccine Phase III clinical trials. Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said, “We will not lag behind the foreign vaccines that have already announced some Phase III results. Currently, the results published by Moderna and Pfizer both have data on efficiency and protection efficiency exceeding 90%, but this data is only among them. An indicator is whether it is a’good vaccine’, we have to consider other factors. ”
Through the above introduction, we can get some basic information about the vaccines of the two countries. But as Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharm Group, said, there is no “China-US dispute” in rapid vaccine development. Viruses are our common enemy. As long as they have both the reliability and effectiveness of killing viruses, they can help mankind successfully fight against viruses. , Is a good vaccine!
On December 12, 2020 local time, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Pfizer’s new crown vaccine, which is the first batch of vaccines vaccinated by ordinary Americans. The United States at this time is deeply mired in the quagmire-more than 100,000 cases are being hospitalized, with 3347 deaths in a single day, reaching the highest peak since the outbreak.
In December last year, Zheng Zhongwei, director of the National Health Commission’s Research Center for Medical and Health Technology Development, said that by the end of the year, my country’s annual vaccine production capacity is expected to reach 610 million doses, and 1 billion doses in 2021. According to high-risk groups, high-risk groups and general population stratification to meet vaccination. Calculated with 2 doses per person, this means that at least half of China’s population can be covered. As long as a 70% vaccination rate is reached, herd immunity can be achieved.
