It's not so much an Italian problem as an international one, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about vaccines, especially those of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, both of which have ended up in the crosshairs of American and European regulatory authorities. If for the Anglo-Swedish serum it was considered as a precaution to administer it only to citizens over 60 (net of reminders to those under 60 who have already received the first dose and who, barring specific symptoms, will receive the second), i.e. those to be vaccinated more urgently, the United States seems to be facing the same fate, which has the same pharmacological characteristics. The choice shouldn't worry because there are various vaccines and at the moment all of them are safe and effective to protect the most vulnerable segment of the population, but the problem will come later: millions of people, in Italy and around the world, will still have to be vaccinated. With which vaccines and with what timing?
Various news stories are chasing each other in the scenario. The first is that the Denmark, the first European country to precautionary block the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine a month ago, has now decided to suspend it permanently, due to the possible (but very rare) links with cases of thrombosis. The decision will delay the vaccination program in the country by a few weeks (it was expected to close between July and August), also because Copenhagen has always paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to the risk of thrombosis. What happens in other countries? In Italy, the Government has changed the plan: contracts for viral vector drugs will not be renewed (therefore AstraZeneca, J&J, but also Sputnik and the Italian ReiThera, valid for the over 60s) and from 2022 only Pfizer and Moderna will be used. The problem is, however, that vaccines such as the single-dose one from Johnson & Johnson, of which Italy expects 7,3 million doses by June, had to be used precisely for the second phase of the campaign, the one intended for the under 60s and in particular for the 55-60 range years.
Precisely for this reason the European Commission itself accelerates on Pfizer. Ursula Von der Leyen announced an agreement for a new supply of vaccines, with 50 million additional doses delivered in the second quarter, starting in April. They will be distributed on the basis of the population of the various member countries. Germany for its part imposes a further squeeze on AstraZeneca: while in Italy - for now - the calls for the under 60s (for example a large part of the teaching staff, who have been vaccinated precisely with the Anglo-Swedish drug) are safe, Berlin recommends to administer to the under 60s who have already taken the first dose of AstraZeneca (i.e. as many as 2,2 million people) another booster vaccine. On the other hand, the attitude of the woman was more permissive France, which to speed up with the doses already available he decided to administer AstraZeneca also to the over 55s.
In favor of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines there is another fact that has emerged in these hours: they would be able to protect against Covid-19 for at least nine monthsFood and Drug Administration (FDA) biological testing research director Peter Marks said.
