Talks with Pfizer to Continue Today
Representatives of Icelandic authorities will be meeting online today, Tuesday, with representatives of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to discuss the possibility of Pfizer conducting a phase IV trial of their COVID-19 vaccine in Iceland in order to research, among other things, whether herd immunity can be achieved. Talks to this effect have been ongoing since December. Morgunblaðið’s sources indicate that a decision is likely to be made following today’s meeting.
Should the study be approved, the infrastructure needed for the project is well underway. Laugardalshöll sports center in Reykjavík has already been converted into a mass vaccination site, where thousands of people could potentially be vaccinated a day. The vaccination facility on Suðurlandsbraut, Reykjavík, which has been used so far, offers limited parking space, while Laugardalshöll has about 1,400 parking spots.
On Friday, Ragnheiður Ósk Erlendsdóttir, managing director of nursing at the Capital Area Health Clinics, told mbl.is that the main reason for moving the vaccination services to Laugardalshöll is the lack of parking space on Suðurlandsbraut. She denied it had anything to do with a potential Pfizer experiment.
At yesterday’s press conference, Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason reiterated what he has stated numerous times - that no agreement has been made between Icelandic authorities and Pfizer. Therefore, it is not clear whether the study will go ahead. He added that no information is available regarding how much vaccine is expected or when.
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