SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – There is still no approved vaccine against the novel coronavirus, but there are vaccines currently in the most advanced phase of humans trials, the so-called phase 3.
After healthcare professionals, teachers will be the second priority group for vaccination against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), announced yesterday, October 5th, the São Paulo State Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn.
“What we have planned is the vaccination of healthcare professionals first, given the fact that they are deep inside the environments where the circulation of the virus is extremely high,” said Gorinchteyn. “From then on, we believe that teachers should be the second group to be vaccinated,” he added. The third group with priority for vaccination should be people with chronic diseases, said the Secretary.
“We need to have as many doses as possible to vaccinate as many people as possible, and quickly,” said Gorinchteyn.
There is still no approved vaccine against the novel coronavirus, but there are vaccines currently in the most advanced phase of humans trials, the so-called phase 3. Should these vaccines pass phase 3 and be granted approval, vaccination can begin.
The São Paulo government, through the Butantan Institute, has a partnership with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for the CoronaVac vaccine. Through this agreement, the government will be provided with 46 million vaccine doses by December. The agreement also provides for technology transfer to Butantan.
The CoronaVac has been in phase 3 of trials with Brazilian volunteers since July this year. The vaccine’s efficacy is assessed in phase 3, that is, whether or not it protects against the virus. If the trials prove its efficacy, the CoronaVac will still require approval by National Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) to begin vaccination.
The São Paulo government expects that vaccination could begin on December 15th.
Source: Agência Brasil