Pfizer and AstraZeneca Vaccines from COVAX and Spain are two vaccines that are on their way to Nicaragua and should extend the Voluntary Vaccination Program here.
The Nicaraguan Government has approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine for Covid-19 and has assured the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that the health authorities in the country have in place the proper equipment to ensure the cold storage and supply chain from delivery of the product to administering the injections.
As a result, COVAX has earmarked more than 200 thousand doses of the Pfizer vaccine for Nicaragua.
The COVAX initiative is aimed at the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines as well as to guarantee a fair and equitable distribution to countries in need.
Dr. Ciro Ugarte, the Director of Emergencies from PAHO said he was satisfied that the Nicaraguan authorities have successfully adapted the cold storage facilities. Pfizer vaccine requires storage at around -70ºC.
Ugarte said that PAHO staff have been going out with the Ministry of Health (MINSA) vaccination teams ensuring that the immunization workers are adequately trained in relation to the introduction of new vaccines.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a 2-dose series, 3 weeks apart. See Fact Sheet PDF.
The latest news on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reports that after initial studies showed it protected people 100% of the times against hospitalization, new studies reveal that the efficacy of the vaccine steadily declines to about 84% about six months after the second dose was administered.
AstraZeneca Vaccine
In addition to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Nicaragua will receive almost 98,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Spain.
Spain has apparently immunized the only age group for which they approved the product (those aged 60 to 69) and this donation to Nicaragua is part of shipment of 750,000 doses to Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Peru. In April 2021, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged more than 7.5 million vaccine doses would be redistributed to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Difference between Pfizer and AstraZeneca Vaccines
The Astra Zeneca vaccine easier to transport and store that some other vaccines as they only need to be stored between 2 and 8ºC. As stated above, the Pfizer vaccine requires storage at around -70ºC.
