A major development at the international level with regards to a successful vaccine trial has raised hopes of prevention against the deadly virus.
International firms Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Monday that the phase-III clinical trial of their vaccine had shown 90 per cent efficacy in preventing the disease among those who have not contracted the virus.
With this outcome, the prospects of the two vaccines on which Pakistan is working have also increased as they target the spike proteins of the virus just like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
It is therefore hoped that the commercialisation of the vaccine in the country could start in the coming months.
However, health experts suggest that it would not be easy for developing countries to maintain the cold chain and store the vaccine at -80 degree Celsius.
Third world countries, including Pakistan, do not have the “cold chain” that will allow them to transport the vaccine in -80°C temperatures from the point of origin to the hospitals.
RNA is notoriously unstable and requires extremely cold temperatures for that safety. That’s going to be a logistical nightmare even in so-called developed countries.
Health experts are also viewing a problem of large-scale production which would take a year to reach subject to the vaccine passing all the steps required. It’s also just not going to be enough. A single company is not going to be able to produce enough for global inoculation.
