Pfzier Says Its Vaccine Works On Indian Variant

The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are pioneers among drugmakers to earn a magnificent triumph data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. In the latest development, Pfizer has told the government its jab shows “high effectiveness” against the India-dominant variant and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality.

This year, Pfizer is likely to supply 50 million COVID-19 vaccines to India and it is presently discussing with the government over fast-track approval to roll out five crore doses between July and October, albeit with several conditions. They have asked for relaxations in some clauses, including indemnification for its shots. The two sides have held a series of meetings over the past few weeks, some of which also involved Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, to resolve tensions, including the grant of legal indemnity ( Over a demand by the U.S. drugmaker for legal protection from any claims linked to the use of its COVID-19 vaccine).

“Pfizer seeks indemnity and liability protections in all of their agreements consistent with applicable local laws and has one with 116 countries in the world. Indemnification clauses are often included in contracts with governments for the supply of necessary vaccines during any public health emergency,” says reports.
Pfizer also told the government that its vaccine had been proven suitable for everyone above 12 years of age and can be stored for a month in cold storage facilities with a temperature range of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

Talking about the technology used, the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more rapidly than conventional vaccines. Currently, in India, none of the three vaccines (Covishield, Covaxin or Sputnik V) approved here have been cleared for use on those below 18, although Covaxin is expected to begin trials for the 2-18 age group by the month’s end.

The Pfizer vaccine which was created in collaboration with German biotechnology firm BioNTech is the only vaccine currently being administered to children in some countries. On May 14, the US health regulator rolled out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between the ages of 12-15 and Canada had approved their shot for children on May 5 while the European Medicines Agency evaluated its use in children.

In conclusion, Pfizer is all ready to export five crore vaccine doses in a span of 4 months, starting with one crore vaccine doses in July, one crore in August, two crores in September and finally another one crore in October. But as mentioned earlier, the manufacturer has agreed to hold talks with the Government of India and accept payments directly from them. As we know, both Pfizer and Moderna had refused to sell vaccines directly to states.

We have a long way to go to vaccinate a whopping 130-core population as India has administered over 20 crore vaccine doses so far. Right now, India has Covishield (developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute) and Covaxin (developed and manufactured by Bharat Biotech). A third – Russia’s Sputnik V – has been approved and is to be rolled out soon.