With American pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer expected to release a coronavirus vaccine as early as the start of 2021, the company is currently in talks with the government of Brazil to supply its potential vaccine in the first quarter of the new year.
Carlos Murillo, the head of Pfizer Inc in Brazil explained during a video conference on Thursday that the company is working hard to fast-track the distribution of the drug so that Brazilians can be treated as soon as possible.
Currently, Pfizer is collaborating with German partner BioNTech to implement a late-stage clinical trial of its vaccine in Brazil with 3,100 candidates. During its latest trial, Pfizer has reported that its vaccine proved to be over 90% effective.
In order for the vaccine to remain effective, however, it is required to be stored at negative 70 degrees Celsius—a requirement that could pose a challenge in developing countries where resources are limited.
Despite this potential drawback, Murillo remains confident that the vaccine will be successfully distributed, explaining that the vaccine can be maintained using only dried ice: “It’s not a simple issue and it does not resolve the logistics, but it changes the paradigm that a country would need an ultra freezer in each vaccination center, that’s not the case.”
