Cuba should begin the process of obtaining World Health Organization (WHO) authorization to use for two national vaccines against COVID-19, Sobrana 02 and Sobrana Plus. Applications should be made by the end of January according to local authorities. Another deterrent on the island, Abdala, has already made the request.
“Abdala Vaccine has already submitted its report [para a OMS], We have to send two reports from Sobrana 02 and another from Sobrana Plus”, said Vicente Verez, director of the Instituto Finale de Vaccinas, in a press conference. The institute was responsible for the development of two new vaccines against COVID-19.
To be licensed from WHO, the results of clinical studies must be evaluated by researchers and scientists from the organization. In addition, it will be necessary to validate the standard and hardness of factories and the production process of the antibody.
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leap in global vaccination
With WHO approval, Cuban vaccinators will receive a one-of-a-kind international seal of efficacy and safety against COVID-19. This will most likely expand international use of the vaccine and also allow the vaccine to be part of the COVAX facility portfolio. The WHO initiative seeks to distribute vaccination equitably in all countries, including low-income countries.
“Many countries and populations in the global South see the Cuban vaccine as their best hope for vaccination by 2025,” Cuban expert and professor of economic and social history at the University of Glasgow in Scotland told CNBC.
The hope is that, if approved, vaccines from Cuba could be distributed to some of the poorest countries that have not yet managed to launch a vaccination campaign due to a lack of doses. According to Our World in Data Platform, 60.7% of the world’s population received both doses of vaccine or single-dose antibodies. However, only 9.8% of people in low-income countries received at least one dose.
Vaccination against Covid and Cuba
So far, about 86% of the Cuban population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition, according to the Our World in Data platform, another 7% of the population received at least their first dose of immunosuppressant. Significantly, these numbers already include children over the age of 2 years, where vaccination is already authorized. Now, the focus is on expanding the coverage of booster shots.
Source: CNBC I our world in data
