On Tuesday, the European Union announced they got 160 million doses of U.S. Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines arrangement. This will level up the potential shots inventory to almost 2 billion, and everyone is getting a little excited.
A few days ago, Moderna announced that their experimental vaccines is showing 94.5% effectiveness in averting the covid-19 virus based on their interim data. But this does not end here. It is going to encounter a lot more.
READ: COVID-19 Vaccine: As People Doubt, Scientists Determine its Efficacy
First, and probably the easiest part, is that the drug must win approval from E.U. government bodies, including the drug regulatory. Fortunately, Ursula von der Leyen said that "I am happy to announce that tomorrow we will approve a new contract securing another covid-19 vaccine." To top it up, he continues, "allows us to buy up to 160 million doses of a vaccine produced by Moderna." Terms, conditions, and even pricing have not been disclosed yet.
To continue, the 450 million population of E.U., requiring two shots each, makes up less than 10% of the world's total supply requirement for the vaccine making the supply chain up for a real challenge. Despite the contract's approval, the delivery date is still unknown because, for one, the demand for the shots is too high.
In a separate interview, the British administration's prior director of immunization, David Salisbury, said, "It's going to be an extraordinary logistic challenge. I just hope it works." The truth is, not in the entire history of the world that the clamor for one drug has been so hype and so immediate at the same time.
The pharmaceutical industry is not stopping, even if the statistics are startling. Two giant pharma companies have already answered. One is the German BioNTech, and its U.S. partner Pfizer has already applied for emergency regulatory approval last Friday as they are planning to produce 1.3 billion doses next year. Two is Moderna, a Massachusetts biotech company aiming to deliver another billion amounts next year if its regulatory bid is favorable.
ALSO READ: COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Shipped Quickly Upon Approval of Emergency Use Authorization
Still, experts are also warning that supplying everyone around the world is also a trial. Mainly because coronavirus vaccines need to be stored at negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit or 34 degrees Celsius, Haulers could not design the effective massive cold transport system for efficient storage and delivery as quantities, haste yet, and the temperature is out of their control. They are considering here inhospitable places like the North Pole. The vaccines must be handled delicately as doses are minimal.
Another problem that arises from keeping these vaccines cold enough is how are these vaccines will reach war zones, which medical facilities could have probably been burned down by now, and that people are in hiding in far-flung areas. Thus, new technologies are being formulated to properly handle and deliver to keep them in their optimal efficacy.
Although many are positive, the dispersion of covid-19 vaccines will encounter massive logistical difficulties aside from vial economies and inoculated deception.
