While the Covax solidarity scheme is widely criticized – by both donor and beneficiary countries – several projects aimed at making developing countries self-sufficient with regard to vaccination against Covid-19 are developing. We are going to South Africa and Indonesia.
WHO prepares messenger RNA vaccine in South Africa
The future of vaccination against Covid-19 in developing countries could be played out in South Africa. The World Health Organization has opened a vaccine research and technology transfer center in Cape Town. The WHO is developing a messenger RNA vaccine there, the formula and know-how of which can be shared with low-income countries wishing to manufacture it. An act of independence from big pharma;
Researchers from Afrigen, the biotechnology company chosen by the WHO, have succeeded in producing a first sample of messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19. It is inspired by the Moderna vaccine without being its carbon copy. Scientists rely exclusively on public data to create their own vaccine and it will take time. The start of clinical trials is scheduled for the end of the year and marketing authorization is hoped for 2024. A delay of at least two years which, according to a WHO official, could have been reduced half if the biotechnology giants had agreed to help Afrigen.
The visit by Dr Tedros and Ms Kitir is focused on the #mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub and ongoing vaccination initiatives, including the mRNA Hub at Afrigen, genomic sequencing at the Biomedical Research Institute and the fill and finish facility at Biovac pic.twitter.com/8aJDqb5R2j
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) February 11, 2022
A vaccine against Covid-19 in 2024, is it not too late? Here is the response from Gelise McCullough who heads the communication of Medicines Patent Pool, the NGO partner of this project: “We don’t know what direction this pandemic will take, but what gives hope is that we are already thinking about other vaccines: tuberculosis, HIV. This is the start of something big that is not sure. two years but rather maybe ten years and that will be a game changer here in Africa to be able to be a center of research. Finding vaccines that are well suited for those who need them.”
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The WHO has partnered with companies in several developing countries to buy the technology and be able to produce Afrigen’s vaccine themselves once it is licensed. Brazil and Argentina are already candidates. New partnerships should soon be announced on the African continent and in Asia. For the WHO initiative to be a success, the vaccine must meet at least three conditions: a quality vaccine, a vaccine adapted to the countries concerned, in particular storage and temperature conditions. And of course, a vaccine at the right price.
A 100% Indonesian and halal vaccine
In Indonesia, clinical trials of a new vaccine, Merah Putih, have just started. This name is not trivial and says its aspirations well because it means Red and White, the colors of the Indonesian flag. This vaccine is the first to have been developed entirely locally. Indonesia has already authorized 13 vaccines against Covid-19, so one might wonder how useful this newcomer is. According to epidemiologist Dicky Budiman, the motivations are health and religious: “Indonesia is a very populous country. We cannot depend on imports for Covid vaccines, we do not have the resources for that.”
“The majority of the country is Muslim and for them a ‘halal’ vaccine is very important, in addition to the guarantee of transparency on the production of the vaccine.”
Dicky Budiman, epidemiologistat franceinfo
You should also know that at present half of the Indonesian population is not yet vaccinated, and the other half has received mostly doses of Chinese vaccine, which do not have very good press. They are deemed unreliable, resonate with anti-Chinese sentiment which can be quite strong in the country Even though the Indonesian Ulema Council has also declared these vaccines halal, this has not always been enough to reassure a slice of the distrustful population on this level.
With this 100% national vaccine production, it is also a long-term ambition of Indonesia that is highlighted. The country wants to appear as a new nerve center for vaccine production with the WHO. And the Merah Putih therefore makes Dicky Budiman quite optimistic: “In terms of vaccines, designing and producing doses from A to Z is unheard of in the country.”
“We are now in the ideal situation to develop these vaccine research capacities. So this is very good news not only for the Covid crisis, but also potentially for future threats.
Dicky Budimanat franceinfo
Indonesia, the country with the most Muslims in the world, could therefore enter the niche of halal vaccines. And this vaccine against Covid-19 is not only intended for Indonesians. The Minister of Health announced that it could also be distributed to other populations who need it.