Pfizer covid vaccine needs storage at-70 degrees,difficult in India,says AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 11, 2020:    As the world cheers the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine showing positive results, experts in India have said there is not much hope in it for India. AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has said the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine needs to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius and such logistics could be difficult to arrange in India.

 

“Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius, which is a challenge for developing countries like India where we will have difficulties in maintaining a cold chain, especially on rural missions. Overall, it is encouraging news in vaccine research for those in Phase III trials,” said the AIIMS-Delhi Director.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech have said that their coronavirus vaccine candidate has been found to be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.

The interim analysis, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the US and five other countries for the Pfizer vaccine trials.

In an interview, scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang said Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and could prove to too expensive for India. While Pfizer has not decided what its coronavirus vaccine will cost, Gagandeep Kang said, "For India, RNA vaccines are going to be very expensive."

Meanwhile, in a tweet, Congress Rahul Gandhi said, "Even though Pfizer has created a promising vaccine, the logistics for making it available to every Indian need to be worked out".

Pfizer coronavirus vaccine’s super-cold storage requirement is not available in most hospitals, even in big cities.

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is among 10 possible vaccine candidates in late-stage testing around the world — four of them so far in huge studies in the US.

Courtesy:India Today