On the 12th of November, the Full Professor at FMUL and Researcher at iMM, was live on Jornal Observador, on the program "Manhãs 360".
In the opinion of Miguel Castanho, about the prematurity of the new Pfizer vaccine, he replies that the news itself is not premature as long as it is well understood and well contextualized.
So far the data point to an efficiency of 90%, but these results are not yet final. It is necessary to take into account information about the way this study was planned, about the safety of the vaccine, about the price to be practiced or even about the logistics of its distribution. We cannot allow ourselves to be carried away in an excessive enthusiasm that may later become frustration. This is really dangerous, says Miguel Castanho.
The fact that the vaccine is available does not mean that it will be available in health centers for administration to the population. "Making a vaccine is extremely delicate". In the case of this Pfizer vaccine, it is a very delicate molecule, which means that the conditions of its storage and distribution must occur under very controlled conditions and these conditions have a price that may not be accessible to everyone.
In the opinion of Professor Miguel Castanho there will not be news in the first quarter of next year, although certain groups may start to be vaccinated, as is the case with health professionals, who work directly with patients with covid-19. But the reality is that we will only be able to assess the results in a context of a general pandemic, when a significant fraction of the population is vaccinated, if all goes well.
Miguel Castanho again defends that “we are too obsessed with the vaccine” and “almost went unnoticed”, in the USA, the approval of a new medicine to fight SARS-CoV-02. He also mentions the need to test quickly and effectively at home, for example, without having to resort to health teams. There are several fronts of combat, it is important, for example, to understand why there are "people who get so sick and have such serious consequences of the infection and others not".
You can access the podcast here