Cuban scientists reported that they began to reformulate one of their vaccines to combat the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has not yet reached the island but was declared of care by the World Health Organization.
To date, Cuba does not report cases of contagion with omicron, but the Caribbean nation is in full opening of borders and airports after achieving relative control of the pandemic that in the previous months put its health system on the brink of collapse.
“We decided, as of last week, to start making a variant of Soberana Plus, having the RBD protein from omicron,” said Vicente Vérez, director of the Finlay Institute, in a television appearance on Tuesday night. “Those of us who make vaccines are going to be ahead of any situation and we are going to prepare and take the measures to put our country in the lead in that effort.”
Cuba is the only Latin American nation that produces its own antigens to face the pandemic. To date, Soberana 02, Soberana Plus -both are placed in a joint scheme- and Abdala have been approved.
The vaccines were applied to more than 90% of the population, including children older than two years, and are being exported to Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Vietnam. Countries like Argentina and Mexico also showed interest in these products.
The Finlay Institute manufactures the Sovereigns and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to Abdala.
The Caribbean nation spent ten months of a regrowth, then having some control over infections in 2020 and after opening its borders at the end of the year, with which the delta variant arrived, but then there was no local vaccination process. In the middle of the year, the population began to be massively immunized with a three-dose schedule.
In August, for example, 260,000 cases were reported, some days with more than 9,000 that had peaks in provinces such as Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Río and Ciego de Ávila. The next month that generated concern was September with 223,000 new infections; however, only slightly more than 9,500 were reported in November.
Since the pandemic began, Cuba has reported 962,628 infected people, of which 8,305 died.
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