Pfizer begins vaccine test with volunteers in Brazil

The tests of the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer in partnership with the German BioNTech begin on Wednesday (5) in Brazil. The doses will be applied to fifteen volunteers in the city of São Paulo on the first day. On Thursday (6), another 20 selected will receive doses of the developing immunizer. And on Friday, 15 more people will have access to the vaccine in the state capital. This is the third experimental vaccine in the final phase of testing with volunteers in the country. The selection of volunteers is still in the beginning. Until next Thursday, the registration of those interested in participating in the testing stage will be made available on the websites of the two institutions selected by Pfizer: the Centro Paulista de Investigação Clínica (Cepic), in são Paulo, and the Sister Dulce Social Works Institution, located in Salvador, Bahia. The tests will mobilize a total of 1,000 volunteers in both cities and are not restricted to health professionals, as in the case of the vaccine from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac that partnered with the government of São Paulo. To be a candidate in the Pfizer testing phase, the candidate must be between 18 and 85 years old, and has not been infected by coronavirus. According to rheumatologist Cristiano Zerbini, director of Cepic and coordinator of the research in São Paulo, in each institution, participants will be divided into two groups of 250 people. The members of one will receive the vaccine and the others, a placebo - substance with no effect against the disease. "We are looking for people who are at greater risk, those who need to be more protected. This includes the health professional, but also all those who work in hospitals such as porters, cleaners and receptionists. We also want to prioritize community dwellers. The less economically favored people are more vulnerable," Zerbini said. Those selected will receive a booster of the vaccine after 21 days. By the end of the study, six face-to-face visits are planned, as well as a follow-up by telephone calls. Volunteers will receive an electronic journal to mark daily how they feel. The schedule, according to cepic's director, provides preliminary results available within six months. According to Márjori Dulcine, Pfizer's medical director in Brazil, the expectation is to have an answer in October to present to regulatory authorities around the world. From there, it will be up to the agencies to evaluate the distribution of vaccines. The company's five plants are already ready to start production. The goal is to produce 100 million doses later this year and another 1.3 billion by 2021. "The idea is that the vaccine is accessible globally. We want other solutions to be successful. No company will be able to meet the global need in a short time, so it is important that several platforms exist," dulcine said. "Our job is to show the data. Who and how it will receive depends on the regulatory authority, which will analyze epidemiology and technical-scientific criteria to make the vaccine available to the most affected areas." In addition to Brazil, the last phase of vaccine testing developed by Pfizer and BioNTech will be conducted in Argentina, the United States, Germany and Turkey. There are about 30,000 volunteers in all countries.