The article was originally posted on Malaysiakini, with subscription-based to the full access. I have taken some points that I concern most.
Who or what are Pfizer and BioNTech - Pfizer is an American pharmaceutical giant and BioNTech is a German biotechnology company. The duo collaborated to develop a Covid-19 vaccine that uses messenger RNA (mRNA or messenger ribonucleic acid). In November last year, they announced that their vaccine candidate had 95 percent efficacy in a Phase III trial and subsequently published their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. Officially, the vaccine is known as 'BNT162b2'.
How does the vaccine work - The basis of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is its mRNA. Simply put, many vaccines introduce a virus into the system to generate antibodies but this vaccine contains genetic instructions which make the body mount an immune response without the introduction of the virus.
How is this vaccine administered - By injection of one dose to the upper arm, followed by a second dose 21 days later.
How safe is the vaccine - This is out of 43,252 participants enrolled in the trial, about half who were assigned to receive the vaccine while the other half received the dummy treatment. Milder reactions typical for a working vaccine are more common, since they are designed to provoke an immune response. These include fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever. Such reactions are more common among younger people, especially after the second dose. In most cases, these reactions dissipated in a couple of days. Following the vaccine rollout in the UK and the US, however, there had been reports that some vaccine recipients also suffered severe allergic reactions. For the record, VAERS is a publicly accessible database where US patients and clinicians can report adverse events that occur after vaccination.
Malaysia's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) has a similar system in place and publishes annual reports on the complaints it receives. The government also plans to use the MySejahtera app to collect reports on adverse reactions suspected to be linked to Covid-19 vaccines.
How effective is this vaccine? - The Pfizer-BioNTech clinical trial reported an efficacy rate of 52 percent after the first dose and 95 percent after the second dose. The benefits begin to become apparent about 14 days after the first dose.
How was it developed so quickly?
This boils down to reduced red tape, increased funding, and an ample supply volunteers signing up for vaccine trials. All these factors come together to ensure researchers can spend more time working and less time waiting.
Health systems specialist Dr Khor SK explained that much of the 10-year timeline for developing a typical vaccine is spent waiting for funding to come through and waiting for various committees to meet and grant the necessary approvals, rather than conducting research.
In contrast, governments and philanthropies have channelled more money into Covid-19 vaccine research than any other branch of science in 2020. Scientists were also able to build on previous research on vaccines and older coronaviruses, and there was a much greater degree of data sharing and competition to create the Covid-19 vaccine than other vaccines.
In addition, researchers at Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca were each able to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers for their respective clinical trials. Khor said such large numbers usually take two to five years to recruit, but finding volunteers in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic was much easier. “This vaccine is a triumph of science. After NPRA approvals, we should be confident in its safety.
Why are children excluded from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine - The current crop of Covid-19 vaccines have yet to be tested on children under the age of 12, or in some cases, the tests are still ongoing and have yet to yield any results. In the case of the Pfizer vaccine, for example, the youngest participants are 16 years old. The government aims to vaccinate at least 70 percent of Malaysia’s population to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.
Is it compulsory - No. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Covid-19 vaccination will be voluntary. The vaccines will be made available for free to any Malaysian who wants it. Khairy Jamaluddin said the government is also considering whether to provide free vaccination for migrant workers, to help achieve the herd immunity target.
Who will get the vaccines first - Khairy, who co-chairs the committee, said frontliners such as Health Ministry staff, police, armed forces, Immigration Department personnel and others will be among the first. Older folk and those with chronic diseases will also sit higher on the priority list as they are more susceptible to the worst effects of Covid-19 including a higher mortality rate. Those interested in the vaccine will be able to register their interest through the MySejahtera app and also use the app to monitor any side effects that may arise.
This instalment of KiniGuide was compiled by FAISAL ASYRAF.
URL: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/558083
