Cuba starts clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine

Cuba starts clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine
HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 24 (ACN) Cuba begins Monday the initial phase of clinical trials in humans with its first vaccine candidate against COVID-19, named Soberana 01.
The second stage of this process is scheduled for September 11, when the 676 volunteers will be completed, the website of the foreign ministry of the Caribbean nation published.
The vaccine candidate is the result of Cuba’s experience in preventive medicine, massive immunization and the development of its biopharmaceutical industry, which currently shows a well-deserved international prestige.
At present, Cuba administers 11 vaccines (eight of national production), with 4.8 million doses per year of simple or combined immunogens that protect against 13 diseases, and each year overcomes 98 percent coverage in the whole nation, which provides the population with a high level of immunity.
 Cuba ranks 30th among the more than 200 developing COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the world.
 The countries with the most developing vaccine candidates now are China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Japan and Germany, developed countries with connected multinationals.
Abel González Alayón