Cuba heads firmly towards COVID-19 immunization

The First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, commended the closing of the application of the third and last dose of the Abdala vaccine candidate, as part of phase III of the clinical trial carried out in Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Bayamo.

"Our vaccine candidate Abdala is approaching the goal. 48,290 volunteers received the three doses, with very few adverse effects. We are going with firm steps towards the country's total immunization, " the Head of State said on Twitter.

Referring to the efficacy of the product, Dr. Verena Muzio, Director of Clinical Research at the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, in charge of the design of the vaccine candidate, informed that the evaluation of this variable, begins on Monday, with the follow-up of all the volunteers to detect any infection with the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus.

Regarding the publication of the results of the efficacy of the vaccine candidate, she clarified that this does not have a fixed time because it depends on the speed with which the cases appear in the period after the administration of the third dose.

The expert noted that researchers are in the final stages of designing clinical trials for  18 years and younger, which must be submitted for evaluation and authorization by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices (Cecmed), to start them in the not too distant future.

The  Abdala vaccine candidate production is in charge of Havana-based  AICA Laboratories.