THE Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it is now seeking to drum up funding to assist countries in the Americas with central warehouses and cold storage units for COVID-19 vaccines.
PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said yesterday that no country within or outside the region is ready to deal with the storage conditions for these vaccines, as there are no other vaccines with the same characteristics as those for COVID-19.
Dr Barbosa was responding to questions at PAHO’s weekly press briefing.
Biopharmaceutical company Pfizer announced earlier this week that its vaccine is over 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in individuals without evidence of prior novel coronavirus infection.
Dr Barbosa explained that, of the 10 vaccines that are now in the final stages of clinical trials, three of them use the genetic material of the virus. The nature of the vaccines requires storage conditions of 70°Celsius/-103°Fahrenheit.
The PAHO assistant director said countries that decide to use the vaccines will need to prepare. He said PAHO is now having dialogue with financial institutions for assistance to strengthen the cold chain facilities in regional countries.
He noted that the issue is not with localised vaccination storage conditions, such as rooms where vaccines are kept, but central storage.
“This is a challenge for the whole world,” he stated.
Dr Barbosa also said that while Pfizer and other prospective vaccines give hope to the region and the rest of the world, “we still don’t have a vaccine” and countries must remain resolute in their public health measures.
He pointed out that there is still some way to go before countries can benefit from COVID-19 vaccines.
The assistant director outlined that developers still need to publish all data in journals to allow the scientific community to double-check such data, and that the findings will have to be presented to the regulatory bodies in each country, and where the purchase of vaccines will utilise the UN system, organisations such as the World Health Organization and PAHO will have to disqualify vaccines.
“So it is good to say vaccines are close to finalisation, but it has to await full review,” he cautioned, noting that there is also the process of deployment that will have to be devised.
The Government has assured that Jamaica will have fair access to vaccines when they are ready, and that they will be made available to those who want it, free of cost.
— Alphea Saunders
