Cuba’s Sovereign 02 and Abdala vaccines to arrive in Argentina in August

The Argentine ambassador to Cuba, Luis Ilarregui, estimated that the vaccines, Soberana02 and Abdala, developed by laboratories in Cuba, will “probably” arrive in Argentina in August.

“When in Cuba they will have vaccinated 70% of their population, which will be in August, the Cuban vaccine will surely reach Argentina”, declared the diplomat in dialogue with Radio con Vos.

In this sense, Ilarregui pointed out that the meeting that the Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, the Presidential Advisor, Cecilia Nicolini, and the President of Cuba, Miguel Daz-Canel Bermdez, held a few days ago in Havana , as part of the visit of Argentine officials made the Caribbean nation a “very good result”.

“They met with the health authorities and the Cuban Minister of Health and signed a letter of intent and a letter of confidentiality,” added the Argentine representative in Cuba.

The ambassador explained that in Cuba the Soberana 02 and Abdala vaccines are the “most advanced” vaccines, but that Soberana01 and Soberana plus are also in development, a drug that “would serve as a booster for any vaccine. “and also to treat patients with Covid -19 because it” significantly reduces bilateral pneumonia “.

“In Cuba, they get vaccinated in what is called a health intervention, which looks like a prolonged phase 3 and they have already reached 1 million 140,000 vaccinated,” Illaregui commented.

The ambassador said that until last week, 10% of the population was vaccinated in Cuba and that local authorities hope to vaccinate 70% of the inhabitants of the largest Caribbean island in August.

Asked about the health progress that is being verified in Cuba, the ambassador explained that in this country they have done “basic work for years” because they produce eight of the 15 vaccines on their schedule and also ” created the drug for meningococcus and hepatitis B “.

“Cuba has always been an example in certain areas, undoubtedly in education and health,” he noted.

In this regard, he argued that the Argentine President Alberto Fernndez proposes a “kind of integration in this matter” and that “speaks very well” of his management and added that “it is not less” than the Argentina “shows independence” in its conversation with the IMF because it deals with “all the countries of the world”.

Asked about the situation in Cuba, the ambassador said that the citizens of the country “have a big problem and that is that they have lost” 95% of their income in tourism because of the pandemic, and in January ” they reached the same amount of infections as during the whole of 2020 “because” the airports were opened “.

“They are worried, despite a fairly low mortality. Yesterday, they had 8 deaths and they are still in the order of 1,100 daily cases with the South African strain,” he explained.

He also commented that they wanted to be “the first country in the world to vaccinate 100% of its population with its own vaccine”.

Finally, he referred to the complex situation that Cuba is going through with “deficit trade balances”, without tourism, which was the “biggest income of the country”, nor international health services and the “obstacles put in place by the American government. by Donald Trump. Which eliminated sending money to the island through companies or branches that are in Cuban hands.

“The blockade (of the United States) is something very old politically. I don’t like the way you behave politically, so I won’t let you develop economic tasks,” he said. he declares.

Ilarregui said that in Cuba they expect “a tourism boom” for the next year and they estimate that between 2 million and 2 million 200,000 visitors will arrive in the country, especially “when people are there. vaccinated “.

“It is a country which is experiencing economic complications caused by the blockade and aggravated by the pandemic,” he summed up.