Cuba applies Pneumosil10 valente vaccine

The Cuban National Health System applies from today the Pneumosil10 valent vaccine to all infants born this year, which prevents 10 of the main serotypes of major circulation, causing invasive pneumococcal disease, mainly severe cases of acute meningitis, pneumonia or sepsis.

In the Cuban easternmost province of Guantanamo, more than 2,340 infants born between January 1 and June 30, 2024 will also receive the vaccine, and about 27,500 in the country as a whole.

In addition, those born last July who reach the age of two months, the date established for the first dose to be administered in the vaccination scheme, will also be included in the program.

The adverse effects of the vaccine are common: muscular discomfort, redness or inflammation of the site where the immunogen was administered, fever or low-grade fever.

The young doctor Susel Cobo Reyes, specialist in first degree of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the polyclinic, emphasizes the importance of the anti-pneumococcal vaccine Pneumosil 10 valente and underlines that in studies carried out in the last few years, a predominance of this bacterium has been observed in 46 % of the cases of children with pneumonia, hence the relevance of its administration.

She indicated that a first dose will be applied, a second dose will be administered after two months and a third booster dose will be administered seven months later.

According to the head of the National Immunization Program of the Ministry of Public Health, Pneumosil 10 valente is the most effective measure to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease and with its inclusion in the vaccination scheme, there are now 17 immunologicals, 12 of which are produced in the country, to the pride of Cuban biotechnology.

The aquisition of the immunogen was possible thanks to the support of the Global Vaccine Alliance and the Pan American Health Organization.