The innovative new global collaboration to accelerate the development and production of Covid-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines and to ensure equitable access to them is currently in full swing. The ACT Accelerator is a promise against this pandemic.
The ACT Accelerator device, with a view to accelerating access to tools to fight Covid-19, has entered an active phase, because according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no no time to waste in the fight against Covid-19.
During an event co-organized at the end of April 2020 by the Director-General of WHO, President Emmanuel Macron, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Bill & and Melinda Gates Foundation, the ACT accelerator was launched and brings together governments, scientists, businesses, civil society, philanthropic organizations and global organizations working in the field of health.
These organizations have joined forces to accelerate the end of the pandemic by supporting the development and production of the Covid-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines that the world needs, with the goal of rapidly reducing the mortality and severe forms of the disease, while protecting health systems, by completely restoring social and economic activity in the short term and by facilitating a high level of control of Covid-19 in the medium term.
To date, therefore, according to the latest WHO report on January 15, 173 vaccines are at the preclinical evaluation stage and 64 candidate vaccines are in the human clinical trial phase. And the WHO has set the minimum efficiency threshold at 50%. In the wake of the ACT Accelerator device, vaccines are already available, or should be in the coming weeks. Here is an overview of the main operational vaccines:
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine!
The Comirnaty vaccine (BNT162b2 mRNA) developed by Pfizer-BioNTech laboratories, was authorized at the end of December by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Commission. Two injections are necessary to ensure its effectiveness and the serum should be stored at -80 ° C.
Moderna vaccine!
The United States Medicines Agency was the first to authorize the marketing of Moderna’s vaccine (messenger RNA) on December 18. On Wednesday January 6, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also gave the green light to the serum. This vaccine is administered in two doses and its formula is less complex to store: it needs to be kept at -20 ° C (compared to -80 ° C for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine). This vaccine is said to be 94.5% effective. And grants at least three months of immunity. The laboratory says it is ready “to produce between 500 million and one billion doses in 2021”.
The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine!
On Wednesday 30 December, the British Medicines Agency (MHRA) gave the green light to the AZD1222 vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The UK is the first country to approve this viral protein vaccine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) received a marketing authorization request on Tuesday January 12th. She could make her decision on January 29. The results of phase III clinical trials confirm an average efficacy of 70.4% and show no serious adverse effects or death in vaccine recipients.
The vaccine from Sanofi and GSK!
The two laboratories have developed a vaccine based on recombinant protein, which confers stronger and longer lasting immunity against infections. But interim results from human trials launched in September showed a lower-than-expected immune response, especially in the elderly. A disappointment that led the two laboratories to announce that their vaccine could not be ready until the end of 2021. Olivier Bogillot, president of Sanofi France, confirmed that the vaccine co-produced with GSK should be available in the fourth quarter of 2021. The one produced with Translate Bio should be “no earlier than the second half of 2021”.
Sinopharm’s vaccine!
Chinese group Sinopharm announced Wednesday, December 30, that one of its vaccines against Covid-19 was 79.43% effective. He is the first Chinese pharmacist to report data on the efficacy of a vaccine in preparation, developed in Beijing by the CNBG laboratory. Five Chinese vaccines are currently in phase 3 clinical trials. The vaccine candidate “CoronaVac” from Sinovac Biotech is the most advanced.
Already in June 2020, China was already administering the vaccine from the company CanSinoBIO to many soldiers. Since then, many cities (Yiwu, Shaoxing, Ningbo, etc.) have made the vaccine from the Sinovac Biotech laboratory available as part of emergency vaccination campaigns, particularly for healthcare workers or people traveling abroad for job.
Russian vaccine Sputnik V!
Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine developed by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Ministry of Health (Gamaleya Center) began to be distributed in Moscow on December 5, 2020. It is administered in two injections. It is 92% effective. The vaccine will be made available first to doctors and medical workers, then to teachers and social workers, “without constraint.” Artem Studennikov, Minister Counselor of the Russian Embassy said that “quite a few people were already vaccinated in Russia, several important officials and senior government officials. First, we are starting to vaccinate university and school teachers, as well as doctors, on a voluntary basis.”
Reference: https://www.who.int/fr/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019?
