Thought of the Day - April 27 2021 - Vaccine Wars, The Latest Theaters

Updated: Aug 6, 2021

As you know cats, apes, mink are all susceptible to COVID-19. To address these infections, scientists are developing COVID vaccines that are specially designed for animals. On Wednesday, Russia announced it had registered what it said was the world's first animal-specific jab.

As reported last week, India is having trouble finding affordable/scalable vaccination. Pfizer, Moderna and even AstraZeneca are too expensive, relations with China are poor, and a volume domestic product is still six months away. Thus, India's drug regulator has now approved the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.
Where is Novavax? There was an expectation that Novavax would complete its Phase 3 trials in Q1 and apply for approval in the US and EU early in Q2. With all the PR issues concerning AZ and production issues with J&J the timing is idea. But then again maybe they are less focused on doing it fast, and more on doing it right.
A month ago, when I mentioned the vaccine trial scandals in Ecuador and Peru, I omitted Argentina, where people have been protesting for months as VIPs skip the line. This scandal forced the health minister to resign earlier this year.

At least 440 healthcare staff have died so far from COVID-19 in Venezuela. The country has only managed to obtain about 750,000 vaccine doses from Russia and China, for a population of about 28 million.
Following on from our reputation as the highest over-procurer of vaccines in the world, Canada is now leading the 'endemic COVID' movement by signing up with Pfizer, the world's second most expensive vaccine after Moderna, for the next three years. Trudeau announced Friday that the government has committed to 35 million Pfizer booster shots for 2022, another 30 million for 2023, and an option for 60 million doses in 2024.

J&J: The U.S. plant that was making Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine must fix a long list of problems that include unsanitary conditions and practices in order to resume operation, according to a highly critical report by the FDA. Experts say addressing the issues raised in the scathing report could take months.
The Serum Insitute of India - which produces Novavax and AstraZeneca vaccines - warned in March of raw material shortages, due to US export bans on specific items under their Defence Protection Act. Another Indian manufacturer, Biological E, which is producing the J&J vaccine, had also raised concerns about possible shortages affecting vaccine production. Several appeals have been sent to Biden to end restrictions on the export of raw materials.
Australia, India, Japan and the US announced the 'Quad Vaccine,' on 12 March. The plan is to build on the US's J&J vaccine, produced by India's Biological E Limited, to churn out a billion doses by the end of 2022, in order to try to keep China out of the world's COVID vaccine supply.

With Italy struggling to get its faltering vaccination campaign on track, the parliament's anti-mafia commission is investigating whether crime syndicates are redirecting vaccines to their friends at the expense of the elderly and vulnerable. In addition, some, including the Prime Minister, are also blaming younger people for jumping the queue to get vaccinated.

EU is considering suing AstraZeneca for failure to deliver on its contract commitments, basically for lack of supply. Italy is preparing a similar lawsuit against Pfizer.
A civil suit has been filed in Italy against AstraZeneca as tens of thousands of doses have been seized from two batches as part of a manslaughter investigation.

Cheers

Cliff

COVID-19