New Zealand signs deal to secure 1.5 mn doses of Pfizer, BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

The New Zealand government has reportedly signed a deal with Pfizer Inc and Germany’s BioNTech to secure 1.5 million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine. Research, Science & Innovation Minister Megan Woods said in a statement that the government is in talks with other drug companies as well to ensure sufficient COVID-19 vaccines for the whole population.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, BNT162b2, is one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the race to get regulatory approval in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The UK government had announced on July 20 that it has signed a binding agreement with BioNTech/Pfizer to secure 30 million doses of vaccine. 

The vaccine candidate is based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology and supported by Pfizer’s global vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities. The vaccine candidate is being evaluated in a global Phase 3 study which is currently underway at more than 120 clinical sites worldwide. The trial has enrolled around 37,000 participants with more than 28,000 volunteers have received their second vaccination.

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Vaccine race amid COVID spread

New Zealand has reported a successful containment of novel coronavirus and stopped community transmission through tough lockdown, backed by aggressive testing. However, procurement of potential vaccine is necessary to prevent another wave of infection. The global vaccine race intensified after Russia gave regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in August. 

Preliminary results from two early-phase non-randomised trials of Sputnik V showed no major side effects over 42 days and induce antibody responses within 21 days, said the study published in The Lancet earlier in September. The leading peer-reviewed medical journal said that the doctors conducted trials for the two-part vaccine which contains a recombinant adenovirus type 26 (rAd26) vector and a recombinant adenovirus type 5 (rAd5) vector.

“The human adenoviral vector platform, which is at the heart of the Russian vaccine, has been validated in more than 250 clinical studies over decades and has been found to be safe and free of potential negative long-term effects,” the statement read.

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