Faster than the U.S. and England, a country where 18% of the people were vaccinated in 18 days

The last day of 2019. The existence of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was first known to the world.
More than a year after that, the epidemic of respiratory infectious diseases that began in Wuhan, China has swept the world. The pandemic is constantly running towards 100 million confirmed cases. Nearly 2 million people have already died of the virus.

Vaccines and treatments. These are essential weapons for humanity to fight new infectious diseases.
At the same time as the pandemic began, the development of vaccines and treatments began to be pursued. As with the pandemic, the speed of vaccine development is phenomenal. It usually takes several years to make an effective vaccine against the virus. However, Pfizer in the United States and Bioentech in Germany developed a vaccine for Corona 19 in just 11 months.

December 8, 2020. Starting with a 90-year-old British woman, full-scale vaccination began.
Now, the war against Corona has reached its second round. All countries, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutes around the world are sticking to each other and are striving to fight the anti-corona war.

Can 2021 be the’end game’ (end game) that will end the fight against Corona? The JoongAng Ilbo, which tracks vaccine development and vaccination races around the world including KoreaVaccine TrackerRun’. It has been organized so that you can see the latest vaccine information at a glance.

How many vaccines are in development?
It is difficult to accurately count because pharmaceutical companies around the world have started developing vaccines. According to the Washington Post (WP), there are more than 190 vaccines in the preclinical stage, where animal testing and other activities are ongoing. Fourteen vaccines entered the phase 1 clinical trial, which began to be applied to humans. There are 13 for the 2nd and 12 for the 3rd.

Two types of products (9 days) approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are Pfizer and Modena (USA). However, vaccines that went through large-scale phase 3 began to be put into the field. The AstraZeneca (Sweden)-Oxford University (UK) vaccine, which is scheduled to be introduced in Korea, was approved for emergency use by the British government in December last year, and countries using vaccines from China and Russia are increasing. This means that vaccines that can be used by the general public will soon be poured out.

On the other hand, Korea is in a position to pursue the vaccine development competition. Most companies, such as Genexine, SK Bioscience, and Jinwon Life Sciences, are in the first and second phases.

How does the vaccine fight coronavirus?
The one thing that beats the development speed battle is a genetic vaccine that uses RNA or DNA. A type of messenger RNA (mRNA) that produces antigens in the body through’messengers’ that direct cells to make harmless viruses. This includes Pfizer and Modena. It also generates antigens by injecting a piece of coronavirus DNA into the body. Those who are considered the latest technology have the advantage of being able to make vaccine materials very quickly.

There is also a’viral vector’ type that puts the corona virus gene into a safe virus (carrier) and puts it into the human body. AstraZeneca is representative. Ebola, a pandemic in Africa, created a vaccine this way.

Others include inactivating vaccines that kill or destroy the virus (traditional method), recombining the protein components of the virus, or using virus-like particles like HPV and malaria vaccines.

What are the major vaccines you’ve heard of, their strengths and weaknesses?
There are three vaccines most known to the general public. It is Pfizer and Modena, who have advanced in the vaccine development competition, and AstraZeneca, which is expected to produce and supply the largest amount. Two doses of these vaccines are in principle. Pfizer injections should be given every 3 weeks, and Modena and AstraZeneca should be injected every 4 weeks. According to clinical data released by each company, no serious side effects were observed after vaccination in all three types.

The principle of operation (messenger RNA) of Pfizer and Moder or Vaccines is the same. The prevention effect is also high at 95% for Pfizer and 94.1% for Modena. However, the cost of one vaccination is expensive, around 20,000 won. Pfizer also has a burden of having to distribute it as a’cold chain’ with a cryogenic temperature below -70 degrees Celsius. Modena is stored at -20 degrees in principle, but it is relatively easy to store as it is maintained at 2-8 degrees.

The preventive effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine is slightly reduced to 70.4%. However, only half was administered in the first vaccination, and 90% of the total amount was used in the second. The advantage of this vaccine is its cost. It only costs about 3000~5000 won per vaccination. It can also be stored in a refrigerated state of 2-8 degrees for 6 months.

Korea, which only has a purchase contract, when will the vaccination be?
As of the 10th, domestic vaccine contracts amount to 56 million people. The government signed a contract with AstraZeneca to supply 10 million people (20 million doses) first in November last year. The start of vaccination is expected to be at the end of February as early as possible. It is the fastest compared to other vaccines.

However, as the controversy over the’late introduction’ grew, the Blue House even began to secure a moder or vaccine. On December 28 of last year, President Moon Jae-in and Modena CEO (CEO) agreed to supply 20 million people (40 million doses). This is twice the level of 20 million doses that were initially promoted. The start of vaccine supply is also expected to be advanced from 3Q to 2Q.

Although the details have not been confirmed, 10 million people have also been secured through the’COVAX facility’, an international vaccine joint purchasing association. The COVAX vaccine is aimed at introduction within the first quarter. Pfizer signed a contract for 10 million and Janssen for 6 million. Janssen is expected to receive vaccinations in the second quarter and Pfizer in the third quarter.

Which country has the most vaccines?
AstraZeneca vaccine is the largest country contracted. According to Bloomberg, it has decided to supply 2,965 million batches (as of 9 days) to 15 countries (including Kovacs). US NovaVax (1.284 billion doses) and Pfizer (816 million doses) follow.

By country, Canada has the highest rate of vaccine purchases. It has secured a vaccine that can inoculate 138.8 million people, more than three times (303.5%) of the total population. The UK (302.2%), New Zealand (246.8%) and European Union (EU) countries also have a lot of room. In terms of the amount of vaccines secured, India, with a population of 1.3 billion, is the world’s top leader with 2.2 billion doses.

On the other hand, in Africa, Asia, and South America, there are many countries whose vaccine contracts do not reach the population. Vaccination and corona prevention can also lead to a situation of’rich rich, poor and poor’.

Vaccination race, where did you take the lead?
Overseas, only the vaccine purchase contract was not reached quickly. Beginning with the UK in December of last year, vaccinations were conducted for the general public in the United States, Canada, and EU countries. Although there are homework issues such as administrative procedures, delays due to delivery, and distrust of vaccine safety, the rate of receiving vaccine injections is steadily rising. According to Bloomberg, 18.84 million vaccinations were done worldwide by the 9th.

The fastest pace is Israel, with a population of 9 million. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started vaccination on December 19 last year (local time) with’No. 1′. From the next day, Israeli health authorities began large-scale vaccinations for medical staff. In 18 days, 1593,000 vaccinations were achieved. It is 17.6 times per 100 people. It’s twice the second-highest UAE (8.76 per 100 people).

Reporter Jeong Jong-hoon, Lee Soo-min intern [email protected]
Graphic = Reporters Jaemin Shin, Youngok Kim, Kyungmin Park, Kyungjin Kim, Junhong Cha