Cuba announced on Sunday it would vaccinate 150,000 frontline workers as part of the final phase of a clinical trial of the country’s leading COVID-19 vaccine candidate amid a surge in cases.
The shots using the Soberana 2 vaccine started on Monday and target medical and other personnel at high risk, the authorities said.
“Cuba could immunize 150,000 people immediately from COVID-19, as the phase 3 trial of this vaccine is demonstrating it is very safe,” Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca tweeted.
Soberana 2 has been in the final phase of a clinical trial for the past three weeks involving 44,000 volunteers from the general population.
According to a report, as of March 12, 40 vaccination centers were functioning, a number which should increase over the next few days in the eight Havana municipalities included in the study.
On its official Twitter account, the Finlay Vaccine Institute noted that, during the recently begun phase, Soberana 02 “continues to demonstrate its safety.”
Havana’s Provincial Defense Council reported that during each day that has elapsed, almost all volunteers scheduled were vaccinated, thanks to the work of community family doctor and nurse offices.
Phase III clinical trials of Soberana 02, the first Latin American anti-covid-19 candidate vaccine to reach this stage, will include some 44,000 persons living in the capital, in the municipalities of Plaza, Playa, Diez de Octubre, Centro Habana, Marianao, Habana Vieja, Cerro and La Lisa, and are focused on evaluating the efficacy of the vaccine’s immunogen.
Cuba’s drug regulatory authority on Thursday also approved a second COVID-19 vaccine candidate for late-stage clinical trials called Abdala.