Cuba begins to apply “Sovereign 02”, its own vaccine against the coronavirus which interests Argentina

It was April 1 when the news reached newspapers, including Bugle: “The Argentine government is in talks with Havana for the possible acquisition of one of the vaccines against Covid-19 which is under development in Cuba, and which has already entered phase 3 of its development.” This coronavirus vaccine is the “Sovereign 02” that the island is now starting to apply among at-risk groups.

Cuba began this Wednesday to vaccinate according to a three-dose plan, started with another of its creations: Abdala. Both vaccines are still in the experimental stage and do not have “emergency approval”. Despite this, the Cuban government has asked the at-risk population of the capital to pull out their weapons for the “little dick”.

The vaccination campaign that began this week in Havana, before ending the trials, is part of the protocol called “public health intervention” which makes it possible to administer antigens in the face of increasing cases of covid.

The “emergency use” authorization is expected to arrive next month, for both Abdala and Soberana 02, in order to continue mass vaccination.

Emergency use is the recipe that all countries use to be able to apply vaccines that are still being tested.

How is La Soberana 02

Soberana 02 is one of five vaccines developed by Cuban scientists that entered the final stages of testing in April. Injectable, anticipated two doses application, with intervals of two weeks between each, plus a reinforcement. No need for freezers.

Sovereign 02 is a development of a recombinant protein, the same technique used by the American biotechnology company Novavax.

The protein generates an immune reaction against the virus by incorporating a toxin, in the case of Sovereign 02, that of tetanus. This method prevents entry of covid into cells.

Argentina’s interest

Monday March 29, as reported Bugle, Minister Carla Vizzotti met Cuban Ambassador Pedro Pablo Prada Quintero in Buenos Aires. They exchanged information on various drugs, including the “Sovereign 02” vaccine.

Although it appeared then that there could be Cuban vaccines in Argentina for May, the truth is that no dates, neither quantities nor amounts closed.

A national vaccine expert

Cuba’s vaccination plan includes three doses. Two from Abdala which is already produced on an industrial scale and one from Soberana 02.

The island has a long history of vaccines: under the American embargo since 1962, Cuba began to develop its own remedies in the 1980s. Of the 13 vaccines in its vaccination program, eight are produced locally.

Still considered a “vaccine candidate”, Abdala is under development by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Cuba.

According to the Cuban government, industrial batches of Abdala are already being manufactured in the laboratories of its pharmaceutical industry.

Cuba has a long history of vaccines: under the American embargo since 1962, it began to develop its own remedies in the 1980s. Of the 13 vaccines in its vaccination program, eight are produced locally.

The campaign started this Wednesday in four towns of the capital, in particular Regla, with Abdala and Soberana 02, the most advanced in the events of the five on the island.

Havana, epicenter of the pandemic

2.1 million inhabitants live in Havana and it is today the epicenter of the pandemic in the country. More … than 1.7 million people They will be vaccinated between May and August, as announced Friday by the Minister of Health, José Angel Portal.

“We believe that in June we will have 22.6% of the population vaccinated, 33.5% in July and 70% in August,” Portal told Cuban television.

Although nervous, most of the Havanese summoned this Wednesday attended the 41 qualified vaccinations, confident in the effectiveness of the Abdala project. This vaccine candidate has completed the third and final phase of clinical trials.

With 11.2 million inhabitants, Cuba has been maintaining for months a peak in covid-19 cases with 119,375 infections and 768 deaths since the onset of the pandemic over a year ago.

On Wednesday, it registered 1,207 new cases, a record figure. “The epidemiological situation in Cuba is very complex” and this motivated the authorities “to take the decision to say: we won’t waste any more timeAmilcar Pérez-Riverol, Cuban molecular biologist and researcher at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, told AFP.

The “intervención sanitaria” iniciada este miércoles “no es el procedimiento más ortodoxo” y salirse del protocolo habitual de las vacunas “va a generar críticas”, como sucedió con la Sputnik V, admitió, en alusión a la vacuna rusa que también se aplica in Argentina.

“The skepticism that can be reversed by publishing phases 2 and 3 in scientific journals,” he underlines, adding that in the case of Cuban vaccines there is a culture of many years of trust, in particular in the field of science applied to public health.

Abdala

Abdala, like the other 4 vaccines being tested in Cuba, is based on a platform known as protein subunits. These vaccines include harmless portions (proteins) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which produces COVID-19, instead of the whole germ.

Once the vaccine is received, the body recognizes that this protein should not be present and creates T lymphocytes and antibodies against the coronavirus

Abdala and Soberana 02 vaccines require 3 doses and, since they are stable at temperatures of 2-8 ° C, they do not require specialized refrigeration equipment.

Drafting of Clarín, with information from AFP and dossier

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