Cuba enters advanced testing phase of its covid-19 vaccine

In the midst of the global competition for access to vaccines, the island is betting on local vaccination. If the tests are successful, Cuba could have the first vaccine developed and produced entirely in Latin America. The Cuban candidate for the vaccine against the coronavirus 02 received Wednesday (03/04) the authorization to start the third and final phase of clinical trials, in which its effectiveness will be tested on a large scale.

A vaccine made in Cuba against covid-19 may be on the way

This week, the country began recruiting around 44,000 volunteers aged 19 to 80 in Havana for its randomized, placebo-controlled two-dose vaccine trial, in which some will receive a third booster dose from another candidate vaccine. If the vaccine is successful, Cuba says it will inoculate its entire population of 11 million into what would be the first covid-19 vaccine developed and produced in Latin America. Sovereign 02 is the most advanced vaccine candidate surveyed in Cuba and was developed by the National Vaccine Institute Finlay (IFV). Of the 76 vaccine candidates currently in clinical trials around the world, the Cuban formula is the first of those under development in Latin America to enter the final testing phase. Sovereign 02, for intramuscular application, is a subunit vaccine that combines virus antigen and tetanus toxoid, and also uses aluminum hydroxide to stimulate the immune system response.

Illness

The Cuban capital is currently the territory with the highest infection rate on the island and, over the past two months, has averaged half of the new cases recorded daily. In addition to Sovereign 02, Cuba is developing three other candidate vaccines against Covid-19, to which another has just been added, aimed specifically at preventing the risk of reinfection in people recovering from the disease. The island has not acquired vaccines on the international market, nor is it one of the countries that have joined the Covax mechanism.