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Memorias del Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud

versão On-line ISSN 1812-9528

Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud vol.19 no.1 Asunción abr. 2021

https://doi.org/10.18004/mem.iics/1812-9528/2021.019.01.03 

Articles

The undoubted benefit of Vaccines in the COVID19 Pandemic

Sonia Arza-Fernández1  2 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2160-5741

1Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. San Lorenzo, Paraguay

2Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social. Asunción, Paraguay


To understand the importance of a health measure, it is important to know and analyze the origin, development and impact generated by the intervention. In this regard, the inescapable value of vaccines, must reconcile us with history, to fully dimension them.

The literature maintains1 that the lofty moment of immunization did not begin with the first vaccine in 1796, when Edward Jenner demonstrated protection against smallpox with variolization. This origin is rooted in infectious diseases and dates back as far back as 1000 AD, supported by the inoculation processes carried out in China and India. For 130 years, after Jenner's discovery, beginning with Louis Pasteur in 1885, his vaccine against rabies and then in the 1930s with the development of antitoxins, vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, anthrax, cholera, plague, typhoid fever and tuberculosis, hopes of eradicating disease through immunization were strengthened.

During the twentieth century, research and viral culture in the laboratory, resulted in the vaccine against polio, achieving sequentially, immunobiological against measles, mumps and rubella. Today, the timeline places us in the 21st century, where science, together with new technologies, innovated the development of new vaccine platforms such as viral vector, mRNA and recombinant DNA, thus expanding the objectives to include non-infectious conditions such as addiction. and allergies.

At the end of December 20192, the Hubei Province, China updated us on a respiratory disease that generated insufficiency in a very short time. The first days of January 2020, they identify the new Coronavirus, and its transmission expands, without respecting space, condition or tradition. A new pandemic was installed since March 11, 20203 and the search for a safe and effective vaccine to stop it brought together several projects from three different platforms and vaccination schemes against COVID19 in a marathon race.

It is precisely in this vortex of innovations, where the rigor of the pandemic, forced different clinical trials, during the first semester of 2020, initiating the process of approvals of vaccines against COVID19, in several countries in November of the same year. As a demonstration of efficacy and safety, the WHO sequentially approved the emergency use of four vaccines: mRNA platform from Pfizer / BioNTech (Dec 31, 2020), Vector Viral from AstraZeneca (February 15, 2021) Johnson and Johnson (March 12, 2021) and (mRNA) Moderna (May 1, 2021). Then, at the end of March 2021, they endorsed the safety and efficacy of the inactivated Chinese vaccines from the Sinopharm and Sinovac laboratories, awaiting data to promote their use in emergency. However, despite being approved by several countries, the vaccines, Sputnik V (viral vector), and Cansino (viral vector) are still listed, awaiting promotion by the WHO. Globally and to date, seven different vaccines from three different platforms are being administered and the WHO will add more approvals in June of this year4.

Immunization is one of the most effective public health interventions5. Prof. Dr. Stanley Plotkin stated that there is no measure of greater impact on public health, after drinking water, nor have antibiotics achieved what vaccines have in the growth and development of populations. This premise contains their positive impact on reducing the burden of disease on a global scale. Without ruling out that, by means of vaccination, smallpox has been eradicated exactly 40 years ago6, while firm steps are being taken to eradicate the polio virus7).

Recently, the different countries of the world began their vaccination campaigns against COVID198, and we are pleased to verify, as a nation in the midst of a pandemic, thanks to an accelerated rate of immunization, covering 80% of its population, is reactivated after 1 year of limitations and lockdowns for quarantines. Israel first and now the United Kingdom join this achievement, being the unquestionable reflection of vaccines against the disease.

Although the inequity in the distribution of vaccines against COVID19 is a common denominator for developing countries, and therefore, the scarce availability, there is no doubt of the benefit they provide compared to the risk of acquiring the disease. The endless message that we can offer today is that any vaccine is better than none, and that there is no doubt the great benefit that they will provide.

REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS

1. Needham J, Lu G-D, Sivin N, Needham J. Science and Civilisation in China. 3. print. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press; 2008. 261 p. (Science and civilisation in China Biology and biological technology; vol. 6). [ Links ]

2. Dong E, Du H, Gardner L. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. Lancet Infect Dis 2020; 20: 533-34 [ Links ]

3. Organización Panamericana de la Salud. OMS caracteriza COVID19 como Pandemia: https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/11-3-2020-oms-caracteriza-covid-19-como-pandemiaLinks ]

4. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Enfermedad por Coronavirus: Vacunas: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-vaccinesLinks ]

5. Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social. Normas Nacionales de Vacunación Técnico Administrativas y de Vigilancia del Programa Nacional de Enfermedades Inmunoprevenibles y PAI. Programa Nacional de Enfermedades Inmunoprevenibles y PAI. Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social. Año 2017. ISBN 9789996736636 [ Links ]

6. Kirby T. WHO celebrates 40 years since eradication of smallpox. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(2):174 [ Links ]

7. Naciones Unidas. Noticias ONU (25 de agosto de 2020). «La OMS declara a África libre de poliomielitis» [ Links ]

8. Deutsche W. Governments and vaccination against COVID-19. doi: 10.1016/j.vacun.2021.03.001. https://www.dw.com/es/c%C3%B3mo-se-vive-la-nueva-normalidad-en-los-pa%C3%ADses-l%C3%ADderes-en-vacunaci%C3%B3n/a-57339963Links ]

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