Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Problems

Despite widespread publicity, it is not as effective as previously thought, and the dangerous side effects, the manufacturer's delays in delivering the vaccine, and the difficulties and problems regarding the storage and transportation of the vaccine along with its high purchase price are causing great concerns in different countries, Marzieh Mardani, a health care expert, wrote in an article, as follows:

The horror and fear of the international community to fight the corona pandemic these days have caused many countries to turn a blind eye to the facts about vaccine manufacturers and be happy to fight the coronavirus with a vaccine that there are no positive points about its manufacturer.

One of the COVID-19 vaccines developed in the world and used in some countries is the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine. The vaccine was developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer in collaboration with the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech and is currently being injected in the United States and other parts of the world.

But clinical studies on the American vaccine show that despite widespread publicity, it is not as effective as previously thought. While Pfizer officials said the vaccine was more than 90% effective, the side effects were so widespread that even the director of Pfizer-BioNTech refused to get a jab.

Another noteworthy point is the side effects of this vaccine and the consequences for some of its recipients. According to preliminary data and Pfizer officials, the side effects of the COVID 19 vaccine are very similar to the side effects of the flu vaccine, but more severe. According to the statement issued by the manufacturer, side effects include muscle pain, pain at the injection site, high fever, as well as allergic reactions in some recipients.

In clinical trials in the United States, four volunteers developed Bell’s palsy, which was initially criticized by the US Food and Drug Administration. Some American doctors and specialists have claimed that the incident has not yet been confirmed to have been caused by vaccination and that more extensive tests are needed. However, there have been concerns about the use of this vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States recently announced that 6 out of 270,000 people in the United States who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine had severe allergic reactions and were living a normal life. Is disturbed. Of course, there have been conflicting reports in the media about the deaths of several people as a result of the use of the Pfizer vaccine, and all this is a reason for increasing global concern about this American vaccine.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the only coronavirus vaccine approved by the European Union so far, and millions of vaccines have been ordered. But it seems that the problems with this high-risk vaccine are so great that the European Union is getting interested in other COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to the storage conditions of this vaccine, which should be kept at a temperature of minus 70 degrees, and its infrastructure is not available in many countries around the world, the conditions for injecting and using it are so complicated that it makes it very hard for many people to use this vaccine.  

In Germany, for example, a few weeks ago, some nursing home staff who were among the first to inject the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine mistakenly filled 5 doses more than they should have. Pfizer officials have argued that this is due to a human error, adding that that either they did not read the instructions for the vaccine carefully or the instructions may not have been easy for them to understand correctly. As a result, at least eight staff members in a nursing home were given four doses of the vaccine more than they should.

Another of Pfizer's most important challenges is the manufacturer's failure to deliver the vaccine on time, which has caused Pfizer serious problems in many applicant countries. Two weeks ago, the Italian Institute for Communicable Diseases announced that it would soon sue Pfizer for delays in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines ordered by European countries.

The Italian complaint came just days after Pfizer stressed that, while increasing annual production capacity, the Belgian facility would temporarily reduce vaccine deliveries to European countries and Canada to 2 million units. In this regard, Domino Arcoi, the Italian official of the Institute for the Fight against Infectious Diseases, said he has the support of all governors of the Italian regions to file a civil or criminal complaint against Pfizer.

According to Arcoi, the delay will cause a 29% reduction in the number of vaccines delivered. He said the health of Italian citizens is non-negotiable.

But Italy is not the only country complaining about Pfizer vaccines. In Europe, other government officials have announced that Pfizer has halved the volume of COVID 19 vaccines it will deliver to some EU member states this week, raising growing concerns about an unexpected drop in vaccine supply.

Romania has received only 50% of the planned amount, Romania's Deputy Health Minister Andrei Bacchio told Reuters. The situation is similar in Poland. Officials say the country has received 178,000 doses of the vaccine, a decrease of about 50% from what was expected. The Czech government also predicts that the disruption will last for weeks and lead to a slowdown in vaccination operations.

Delivery of Pfizer vaccines in the Czech Republic has also decreased by about 15%. "We should expect the number of open times for vaccination to decrease in the next three weeks," said Jan Blatni, Czech Minister of Health. Officials predict that it will drop by almost 30% in the next two weeks.

Finally, it can be concluded that the severe and dangerous side effects of the American vaccine, the manufacturer's delays in delivering the vaccine, the difficulties and problems regarding the storage and transportation of the vaccine along with its high purchase price are important factors causing Pfizer BioNTech to lose more and more ground among countries of the world every day and other vaccines to replace it.