Cuba advances with another vaccine against the coronavirus: …

The drug regulator Cuba authorized transition to phase III of the Abdala vaccine, the second prepared by this country against covid-19. With this advance, it is expected that by next August, the island will have enough doses to immunize its entire population against the coronavirus.

The other vaccine that has given way to the third phase of clinical trials is Sovereign 2, which is the most advanced in this country and the first to be produced in Latin America and the Caribbean. It began its testing phase in October 2020 and entered the phase leading up to its massive application on March 8.

Both drugs have received approval from the Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Cuba (CECMED).

In Abdala’s case, he authorized the Cuban Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Business Group (BioCubaFarma) to inoculate 48 thousand volunteers between 19 and 80 years old. The tests will be carried out in the eastern provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo.

In this last phase, an attempt will be made to fully verify the safety and effectiveness of the two products, to which the government of Miguel Díaz Canel has dedicated itself to contain the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Soberana 2 was developed by the Finlay Vaccine Institute and continues to be the most advanced of the five developments in Cuba. Currently, it is being tested on 44,000 volunteers from eight Havana municipalities. Its peculiarity is that, according to studies to date, it could be applied in the pediatric population.

About Abdala, President Díaz Canel underlined how this vaccine “is brought to the fore, bringing us closer to the vaccination of Cuba”, and underlined the imprint on this fact of the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, for his promotion of public health.

In recent days, the Cuban president admitted this week that the forecast of evolution of the virus “is not favorable” on the island, because “the average number of infections per day does not correspond to the prevention efforts carried out. The island accumulates more than 64,000 cases of COVID-19, with around 3,600 active cases and 384 deaths since the start of the pandemic.