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The inoculations, which are carried out with the Sovereign 02 vaccine, began this September 3. In addition, the vaccination program is given within the framework of the return to school year from September 6.
It is the first country in the world to start vaccinating its population from the age of two and, in addition, it does so with a locally produced drug, as the island’s government refused to purchase international vaccines. In Cuba, inoculations against Covid-19 of children and adolescents between 2 and 18 years old are already a reality, with Soberana 02.
The Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (Cecmed) gave the green light to the emergency use of this medicine to immunize children. Olga Lidia Jacobo, director of the Cuban regulatory authority explained that the approval comes after a “very rigorous” evaluation process.
In the Finlay Vaccine Institute study, which developed the drug, there were 350 participants between the ages of 3 and 18. After the final results, the entity determined that “in accordance with the provisions of current regulations and provisions (…) it has been shown that (Soberana 02) meets the requirements in terms of quality, safety and immunogenicity for this population group “.
The scheme applied in the test included two doses of Soberana 02 with an interval of 28 days, in addition, an additional dose of Soberana Plus on day 56. The drug showed 91.2% efficacy against symptomatic disease in its analysis of the phase III.
The immunization of minors from 2 to 18 years of age began on Friday, September 3, and coincides with the resumption of the 2020-2021 school year, which takes place virtually.
Representatives of the Ministry of Health indicated that the pediatric campaign should end on November 15 and will be carried out in a “gradual” and “intensive” manner. The strategy is part of the Government’s plans, which seeks to reach November with 92.6% of the population vaccinated. This was indicated by the Executive of Miguel Díaz-Canel in a statement.
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So far, around four million Cubans, out of a total of 11.2 million, have already received the three doses of Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus as a booster.
Cuban vaccines, without WHO authorization, cannot be distributed on the continent
The Pan American Health Organization recalled that the vaccines against Covid-19 developed by Cuba do not have an emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization, so they cannot be purchased by other countries.
The deputy director of the agency, Jarbas Barbosa, recalled that both Abdala and Soberana must receive the endorsement before they can be provided by the PAHO revolving fund that supports equitable access to vaccines through the Covax mechanism.
However, Venezuela has applied Abdala doses since July, after the Cuban Executive sent the shipments to Caracas. This, despite the fact that the Venezuelan Academy of Medicine, the NGO Doctors United for Venezuela and the Association of Researchers of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research will indicate their “concern” because they considered that the drug has a “dubious scientific credibility.”
With EFE and AP
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