As the government organizes its national COVID-19 vaccination plan, President of the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists Dr. Marvin Smith said The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean community would be better off accepting either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, as opposed to the many other variants available.
There are currently more than nine companies producing COVID-19 vaccines.
The government has secured vaccines for 20 percent of the population through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX), however it has not been revealed which vaccines currently available would be administered in The Bahamas.
“When you look at the different vaccines, when you look at the studies, it’s clear that the Pfizer and the Moderna options have the best clinical studies. That’s why you saw them fast tracked through the US so quickly… They have up to a 95 percent efficacy rate. The Pfizer option takes a little bit more technically to administer considering storage and the need for it to be refrigerated. The Moderna option is a little easier in terms of mass rollout. So those are really the two votes,” Smith told Guardian Business.
“There are some critical issues with the study on AstraZeneca by Oxford University. There are critical defects in that study and that’s why you’ve seen that even though it’s been over a month now that it has been approved in the UK, it’s still has not been approved in the US. I think when we look at what those study defects are, they raise serious concerns for clinicians across the board.
“Without advocating for a particular company, the studies that were done, the models and the methodology that Pfizer and Moderna have used that can show that level of results – because as you know Johnson and Johnson will have one coming out and other companies – those are the ones that I think for our Caribbean region will be applicable for us.”
US prices for the Moderna vaccine are pegged at about $35 per dose, while the price of the Pfizer vaccine is about $19 per dose.
More than 44 million people worldwide have already been vaccinated for the novel coronavirus.
The Oxford University vaccine, which was developed with AstraZeneca, has sold the most doses.
The Office of the Prime Minister earlier this week announced the ten-person National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, which is tasked with overseeing the operational plan to distribute vaccines to eligible members of the public, a process which is expected to begin by the end of the first quarter.
While governments around the world have been the distributors of vaccines to their populations, Smith is of the view that the private sector may soon be able to make vaccines available.
“Some of the Caribbean countries are accessing the PAHO and WHO to get those vaccines and the government has indicated that’s what it is doing. I can’t tell you which one they’re going for, but I think that within the Caribbean there is market for healthcare in the private sector and you’re going to find that in that sector, people are going to want what they think is the gold standard and I think there’s going to be enough to go around,” he said.
“I think our size works for us because the smaller countries will be able to get pieces of the manufacturing batches that are out. I think it’s the bigger countries that are going to require hundreds of thousands and millions of doses and may find themselves having a shortage. The smaller CARICOM states won’t have a problem.
“For example, the Cayman Islands has already completed its first rollout of vaccines. The Cayman Islands is a British territory and I think you’ll see the same thing in Bermuda and you’ll see some things rolling out in other CARICOM countries very soon. It’s just going to be up to people to decide if they’re confident in what is being provided in the public sector, or are there private sector options available. I think before long you’re going to see private sector options available too. I don’t foresee that the only source of vaccines is always going to be the government down the road.
“COVID is not going anywhere, just like anything else where you can get a flu vaccine or other vaccines from the government and you can also go to another entity if you’re willing to pay for it. And you know Bahamians, if we feel like something is worth paying for, we’re going to get it. So I think there will be other options on both ends eventually throughout the whole region and the issue of feasibility and ease of getting the vaccines transported will be the critical factor.”
Smith said the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists will be convening within the next few months to roll out a comprehensive educational campaign for regional pharmacists and on the coronavirus vaccines.
“One of the highest ranking persons at one of the vaccine manufacturers is actually a Caribbean national. We have been speaking with him about doing a project with us,” Smith said.
The post Pharmacist assoc. president: Pfizer, Moderna vaccines best options appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/pharmacist-assoc-president-pfizer-moderna-vaccines-best-options/
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