Cuba announced over 90% efficacy in coronavirus vaccine Argentina wants to buy

The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) of Cuba reported this Monday that the vaccine against the coronavirus Abdala achieved 92.28% efficacy with three doses and thus adds to Sovereign 02, which had brought in 62% with two doses. The news was confirmed by the director of the organization, Marta Ayala, to the president of the island, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez.

In this way, the two antigens reached a result greater than 50%, minimum clinical efficacy requirement required by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is the vaccine that the government of Alberto Fernández is seeking to acquire to strengthen the vaccination campaign.

Shortly before the news was known, Díaz-Canel, speaking to the Engineering Center, had planned that he would give news on the matter. “With the joy of the effectiveness of Soberana 02 with 2 doses, we are on our way to CIGB to share more great news. Pay attention: the effectiveness with three doses of Abdala will be a success that will multiply the pride. #SomosCuba, “he wrote on his Twitter account.

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The Abdala’s clinical trials began in December, with 132 volunteers. For phase 2, it had 660 volunteers and for phase 3, which began on March 22, the sample reached 48,290 people who were vaccinated in six weeks, each dose in periods every 14 days.

Although the announcement is very recent, the representative of the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) in Cuba, José Geraldo Moya Medina, I had already planned that in phases before 3 “indicated good safety and a good antibody response”.

The Minister of Health of Argentina, Carla Vizzotti, and the president’s advisor Alberto Fernandez, Cecilia Nicolini, traveled to Cuba in late May to learn about the progress of phase III, both of the Sovereign 02 vaccine and of Abdala.

During the trip, Vizzotti met Diaz-Canel and signed a Letter of Intent with the Minister of Health of Cuba, José Angel Portal Miranda.

“We talk about the common project and work not only to promote a vaccine fully developed, produced and applied in Latin America, but also to do it in other axes of what is health and science and technology ”, underlined the Minister.

Vizzotti not only looked at the vaccine formulation process, but also verified that this country had the ability to produce it on a large scale. This is a fundamental aspect, to try to avoid delays in expeditions as happened with AstraZeneca and with Sputnik V, that only the last few weeks have started to accelerate shipments to the country.

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The government of Alberto Fernández was waiting for Cuba to complete phase 3 of the clinical trials of the Abdala and Soberana 02 vaccines before moving forward with the purchase of the two antigens or one of them.

Cuba expects to have immunized 70% of the island’s 11.2 million people by August and the entire population before the end of the year. Under an American embargo since 1962, Cuba began to develop its own drugs in the 1980s.