HAVANA – Cuba is betting safely with the subsequent development of their own Covid-19 vaccines and is encouraged by what they see in the late stage and experimental studies, a top Cuban vaccine scientist said.
If the trials are successful, the relatively small, 11 million communist island – which has been approved by the United States for decades – is one of the few countries with vaccinations to fight the coronavirus pandemic, drawing global attention to the potential performance.
The other countries that have developed vaccines, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and India, have significantly larger economies and population sizes.
Two of Cuba’s five vaccine candidates are in Phase 3 trials: Soberana 2, which translates into ‘sovereignty’, and Abdala, named after a book by Cuban independence hero José Martí.
About 44,000 people receive the Soberana 2 vaccine as part of the Phase 3 double-blind study. An additional 150,000 health workers are being vaccinated with Soberana 2 as part of an ‘in-depth study’.
The experimental vaccine in Cuba is similar to the Novavax vaccine being developed in the USA. Unlike the pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines, the Soberana 2 uses synthesized coronavirus proteins to stimulate the body’s immune system.
‘We see that the vaccine is very safe, that the potential risk of applying it to more people is decreasing and that the potential benefits are increasing. There is evidence of some efficacy and that is why we have decided to expand the interventional studies, ‘said Dr. Vicente Verez, director of the Finlay Institute of Vaccines, told NBC News. The institute is named after Cuban epidemiologist Dr Carlos Finlay, who discovered that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.
The institute was founded in 1991 by the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has invested heavily in the country’s healthcare system and pharmaceutical sector. The Cancer Research Center has developed a vaccine that is being tested in the United States and other countries.
In Cuba “we started a little later than the rest of the vaccines [in the world] “because we had to wait to know a little bit more about the virus and the mechanism by which it infects cells,” Verez said. ‘We see a safety profile with the vaccine [Soberana 2] that’s very good. “
With its economy plagued by the pandemic, decades of sanctions and a decline in aid from its ally Venezuela, the island is struggling with food and medicine shortages. Its economy shrank by 11 percent in 2020. But it has managed to keep the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths under strict measures and barriers, compared to many developed countries around the world. In recent weeks, the country has averaged about 1,000 cases per day, but last year it had very low infection rates.
The final results of the Phase 3 trials are not expected for months. The government’s plan is that almost all the inhabitants of the capital, Havana, will be vaccinated by the drastic study by May, and the entire country’s population must be vaccinated before the end of the year.
Verez said that while the vaccination would not be mandatory, he thinks “the vast majority of the population wants the vaccine.”
For Cuba, the vaccine is as much about public health as it is violent evidence; that a small US-approved communist country can compete on the world stage with its own candidates for vaccinations.
Cuba was able to obtain vaccinations from its allies, China and Russia, but the development of its own offers it the opportunity to sell vaccines to underdeveloped countries that have seen few doses, providing it with a source of much-needed hard currency. As U.S. and British vaccinations progressed in clinical trials last year, affluent countries in North America and Europe pre-ordered large quantities, leaving poor and developing countries with a large access gap.
According to Verez, some countries have approached Cuban officials with the goal of purchasing more than 100 million doses of some of the vaccines a year. He said Cuba’s vaccine production system was being reorganized to deliver 100 million doses.
Iran, which bans US and British vaccines, will offer a Phase 3 trial of Soberana 2 as part of a deal that includes millions of doses there. Venezuela will produce Abdala vaccines, its government announced on Thursday. Mexico and Argentina have also expressed interest in Cuba’s vaccines.
“They are very safe,” said Dr. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of the state-owned BioCubaFarma, answered questions by email. “After thousands of doses were administered, only a small percentage of volunteers saw slight and moderate side effects.”
Díaz added that both vaccines create a high degree of immunity. If executed, the prices will be affordable, he said.
According to Verez, the vaccines will be adapted to the new variants, and extra doses may be needed to boost immunity.
Carmen Sesin reports from Miami and Orlando Matos from Havana.
Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
