Volunteers in central Cuba grateful for being part of Soberana Centro trial

CIENFUEGOS, Cuba, Sep 22 (ACN) Volunteers included in the Soberana Centro clinical trial in the municipality of Palmira, in the province of Cienfuegos, were grateful for the opportunity to be part of a process of such magnitude, designed to evaluate the vaccine Soberana 01’s immune response against that of Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus as a booster.

Andy Acea Gonzalez, 33, told ACN that he agreed to participate in the study of his own free will and claimed to be extremely happy to receive the third dose. “Now I will have interesting anecdotes of this significant moment to tell my children or grandchildren in the future,” he said. “I get nervous as I wait for my turn to be vaccinated, but I am always willing to do my bit in this battle to tackle the SARS CoV-2 virus in Cuba and overcome this hard situation.”

He praised the work of the Cuban scientists, who worked for so many months to make these vaccines, as well as the local medical staff and students for their gentleness and patience.

Daimé Martínez Guerra, 31, stressed that being part of Soberana Centro and receiving the last dose of the immunogen means a lot, as now she feels more protected against COVID-19.

"If at some point I get infected, I trust that the symptoms will be mild; however, I take care of myself and comply with all the health protocols," she remarked. “The development of the research in this region is still another achievement of the Cuban health system and of our scientists, who made great sacrifices to come up with these products, which become all the more necessary now that we are coping with more contagious strains such as Delta.”

Soberana 01, 02 and Plus were designed by the Finlay Institute of Vaccines, whose ongoing research is part of a strategy of clinical development of several candidates intended to counteract the new COVID-19 variants with different alternatives.