Vaccines that the Dominican Republic will use are very effective

Santo Domingo, DR

The three types of vaccines against the Covid-19 virus contracted directly by the country to date, such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Coronavac of the Chinese company Sinovac, have efficacy levels that range from 50 to 95 %. These percentages indicate that they effectively reduce the risk of contracting the virus among those who are vaccinated.

Meanwhile, vaccine specialists and medical leaders, yesterday welcomed the announcement made by the president of the Republic that the country acquired 768,000 doses of the coronavac vaccine from the private Chinese company Sinovac and others contracted with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

The country is also on the list to receive these and other vaccines through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) through the Covax mechanism.

Asked about the Sinovac vaccine, the Dominican Society of Vaccination president, Dr. José Brea del Castillo, explained that the Coronavac vaccine from the Sinovac company had been applied with very safe results.

He explained that different efficacy studies carried out in countries where it is applied give results 63, 50, and 91%, but they agree that it protects practically 100% of those vaccinated so that they do not end up needing to be hospitalized or become severe, or admitted to intensive care, no death.

Advantages of the vaccine

The vaccinologist points out that the arrival of the Chinese vaccine, which is expected to be in the next two weeks, will help reduce anxiety and support the vaccination plan.

Among the benefits of this vaccine, he mentioned: that its refrigeration is from two to eight degrees, which is a cold chain that the country has at the national level; It comes in a single dose or single dose per bottle, which means there will be minimal human error and vaccine waste or loss; shows shallow side effects, 1 to 2% and there are no reports of severe consequences.

Also, he indicates, it is easy to store, refrigerate, and apply. He explained that it is a Chinese company that has been manufacturing vaccines for 20 years. Coronavac is currently being used in Indonesia, Turkey, China, Brazil, and Chile, but it has already been acquired by Uruguay and Colombia, while Mexico has just approved it.

Vaccination plan

CMD does not know the plan but is ready to support

Consulted about the birth of Sinovac and the announcement of the Dominican Government that next Monday it will give the details of the vaccination plan that will be carried out in the country, the president of the Dominican Medical College (CMD), Waldo Suero, said that the union does not know any details of it.

“They do not know the plan that will be announced, but we are always ready to serve the nation, government,” said Suero, indicating that they have not been called for Monday and do not have any knowledge of that plan.

Regarding the Coronavac vaccine purchase, Dr. Suero pointed out that they are opposed to any vaccine and urge the Government to acquire all approved ones.

However, he noted that Sinovac’s studies indicate that it is not as effective as Sputnik5, Moderna, and Pfizer.

Hence, he reiterated his suggestion that in sectors that are more exposed to the virus, such as those that work on the front line, the vaccine that is applied is the one with the highest percentage of efficacy.

According to studies, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic manifestations of the virus, and Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna 95% and 94.1%. 70% of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca and Sinovac vary from 50 to 91% in different studies

The DR has experience in these processes.

Vaccine and bioethics.

When participating in the bioethical dialogue on the vaccination process against Covid-19 in the country organized by the National Bioethics Commission (CNB-RD), experts on the subject highlighted the country’s experience in managing vaccination processes.

Dr. Daphne Arbaje emphasized the need to generate sufficient data and records for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines over time.