Cuban health authorities assess efficacy of vaccine candidate Abdala

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, , May 3 (ACN) Health professionals and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) are assessing from today the efficacy of the Cuban anti-COVID-19 Abdala vaccine candidate, after concluding the application of the immunogen in the volunteers of the phase III clinical trial.

A total of 48,290 residents of Bayamo, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo participated in the research, and more than 97 % of them received the three doses of the pharmaceutical product, a figure which evidences the adherence to the immunization protocol.

Francisco Hernandez, head of the clinical study, told the Cuban News Agency that at this stage all volunteers will be followed up in order to detect symptomatic positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection.

This procedure, he said, will make it possible to determine the proportions of the test subjects who became ill according to the group: placebo or vaccinated with CIGB-66 (Abdala), and constitutes an effective way to measure the main variable of the phase.

He added that obtaining the efficacy results will depend on the delay in the appearance of volunteers infected with the coronavirus as estimated in the research design, a total of 150, although they expect intermediate cuts every 50 infected volunteers.

He stressed the importance of reinforcing protective measures against the virus in a very complex epidemiological scenario due to high transmission, mortality and the circulation of new strains and variants of SARS-CoV-2.

The expert also urged the participants in the Abdala study to keep individual care because some received the vaccine and others placebos, hence not all are protected.

He stressed that the vaccines do not prevent coronavirus infection, but one of their purposes is to avoid the development of severe and serious forms of the disease and, consequently, deaths due to COVID-19.

Along with Abdala, Cuba has Soberana 02, from the Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV), also in the third stage of testing in volunteers in Havana, with a long vaccination schedule of 0-28-56 days.

In addition, Cuban scientists have developed the anti-COVID-19 vaccine candidates Mambisa, from CIGB and administered nasally, as well as Soberana 01 and Soberana Plus, the latter in phase II for 450 convalescents.