Starting next week, 3 million doses of the vaccine against two variants of coronavirus from the Moderna laboratory will arrive in the country, which They will be added to those already being applied by Pfizer, which will allow girls and boys from 6 years of age to be included in the immunization with this type of inoculants.
The Minister of Health, Carla Vizzottiannounced on January 19 that AArgentina would include bivariate vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in the Strategic Vaccination Plan against Covid-19and a few days later the first shipment of Pfizer’s arrived, which is already being applied throughout the country.
At that time, Vizzotti said that as of February 6, some 3 million doses of Moderna’s bivalent vaccine would arrive in the country, which in the United States was authorized in December for emergency use in the population from 6 months in forward.
We add bivariate vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 to the national vaccination strategy, one more step in the most important campaign in our history.
They will be distributed from next week in all the provinces and will be applied according to the provincial plans. pic.twitter.com/Q1PHgSOhX1
— Carla Vizzotti (@carlavizzotti) January 19, 2023
However, in Argentina for the moment it will be applied from the age of 6, until the National Immunization Commission (Conain) evaluates the evidence to recommend it after six months.
The application of the bivariate vaccine from the age of 6 expands the current population universe who will receive these doses, since Pfizer’s bivalent is being used from 12 years of age.
Moderna’s bivalent “not only induced a high antibody response, but also extended the duration of those antibodies, and this is key to thinking about how often boosters will have to be applied,” Rolando Pajón, Medical and Scientific Director for Latin America of Moderna biotechnology, said this Thursday at a conference with scientific journalists in which Télam participated.
The vaccine that will arrive in Argentina is the Original Bivariate Spikevax/Ómicron BA.4-5 (mRNA-1273.222), which in its composition contains 25 micrograms of the compound generated with the RNA of the original virus (commonly called Wuhan) and 25 micrograms of the sub-variants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
“Not only did it induce a high antibody response, but it also extended the duration of those antibodies, and this is key to thinking about how often boosters will have to be applied”
Pajón indicated that “the neutralizing activity generated by this bivariate vaccine against the BA.4 and BA.5 strains is much higher than that generated by individuals who had received the monovalent booster (only against the original strain), even in those who had already had contact with the virus.
Moderna’s chief medical officer also noted that In different studies carried out with samples from patients who received the vaccine, the neutralizing activity against the variant of Omicron BQ.1.1 and XBB.1 (which are not included in the formulation) was also much higher than that of those who had applied the vaccine. monovalent vaccine.
In addition, he described that “the mRNA-1273.222 vaccine is not only associated with a greater efficacy response but also has shown very good tolerability, even with fewer local (injection site) and systemic (headache or fever) than boosters given with monovalent vaccines.
In relation to its effectiveness in real lifePajón pointed out that a study carried out by the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that it had an 80 percent protective effect against hospitalizations.
According to the latest information from the Ministry of Health, In Argentina, 1,569,045 reinforcement doses were applied between December 25 and January 21.
“It is very important that they follow applying the boosters to all people from 6 months, prioritizing people 50 years of age or older and those who have risk conditions”, emphasized the health portfolio in a statement.
The vaccine that each person will receive will depend on the one available in each vaccination center and the characteristics of the patient (age, for example); and from the Ministry they recalled that “all the vaccines that are applied are safe and effective against severe forms of Covid, hospitalizations and death.”
