코로나백신 장, 단점 뚜렷…가격•유통조건이냐 효과냐<br /><br />As global pharmaceutical companies get closer to completing their COVID-19 vaccine development, buyers are left to choose which one is the most suitable.<br />But how do we compare them and what factors ought to be taken into consideration?<br />Our Kim Sung-min explains.<br />In the race to acquire COVID-19 vaccines, there are a few crucial factors to take into account,...efficacy, price and storage conditions.<br />In terms of efficacy, the candidate by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner German biotech firm BioNTech,.... is leading the way at 95 percent efficacy followed by Moderna at 94-point-5 and AstraZeneca at 70 percent on average.<br />“In my view the BioNTech, the Pfizer-BioNTech, is probably the most well focused of the vaccines because it uses only this thing called the receptor-binding domain...So they're going to be antibodies that can actually stop the virus binding onto its receptor.”<br />However, AstraZeneca says the effectiveness of its vaccine can be raised to 90 percent by taking a full second dose after an initial half dose.<br />Despite the relatively low efficacy rate compared to its competitors, what makes the candidate from AstraZeneca attractive is the price.<br />Given that two doses are required for full vaccination, the AstraZeneca vaccine will cost around 5 to 10 U.S. dollars,...significantly cheaper compared to that of Moderna and Pfizer.<br />For a person to get two doses of Moderna's vaccine, it would cost at least 50 dollars.<br />Another important factor is how easy it is to transport and store the vaccines.<br />While AstraZeneca's remains safe for at least six months under regular refrigerator temperatures, Pfizer's needs to be transported at around minus-70 degrees Celsius and once defrosted... can only be stored for up to five days.<br />Moderna's vaccine also has a shorter shelf life and is more difficult to transport and store compared to AstraZeneca's.<br />As the development of the vaccines is getting closer to completion, buyers are left to weigh up the benefits of each.<br />While some will be more effective, others could prove to be more practical.<br />Kim Sung-min, Arirang News<br />
