Abdala Vaccine Made In Cuba Is Rated Effective Against COVID-19 Up To 92.3 Percent

Cuba has its own coronavirus vaccine called Abdala (NBC news)

JAKARTA – Cuba has created a homemade Covid-19 vaccine called Abdala. The local vaccine has been recognized by BioCubaFarma. The Abdala vaccine is claimed to be 92.3 percent effective against the corona virus in clinical trials.

The success of the Cuban government in creating its own vaccine makes the country optimistic in fighting the spread of the corona virus. The level of effectiveness of the Abdala vaccine is equivalent to the most potent vaccines, namely Biontech-Pfizer and Moderna.

Launching DW, the Abdala vaccine is a type of protein vaccine capable of carrying a number of spike proteins used by viruses to bind to humans. It attaches to the viral spike protein receptor, triggering an immune reaction. The Abdala vaccine uses yeast to act as a receptor dominant binder.

Last May, Cuba released Abdala. Cuba has also not only made the vaccine, they have also succeeded in creating a second vaccine called Soberana 2.

Cuba created the two vaccines after the government refused to import vaccines from large-scale vaccine-producing countries such as China and Russia.

Abdala was made at the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB). Head of Biomedia Research, Gerardo Enrique Guillen Nieto said that his party must rely on themselves in dealing with the spread of the corona virus.

This confidence has led the Cuban government to believe in its own abilities and strengths so that it can produce a perfect health care system and be able to anticipate disasters quickly and responsively.

“The result is a health care system that is not only free but also centrally controlled and which has enhanced the ability to respond to disasters quickly, be it with clinical trials with vaccination campaigns or even vaccine production,” said Gerardo.

In addition, Gerardo also revealed that the vaccine has been distributed to 2.2 million Cubans in the first vaccination, and the second injection of 2.7 million and 900 thousand doses for the third stage. Abdala vaccine is given in three doses two weeks apart per injection.

The Cuban government is not playing around in distributing the Abdala vaccine, they plan to be able to give Abdala to 70 percent of the country's population by next August. The Cuban government must keep up with the times, because new infections have spread in the Caribbean Islands, reaching 2000 cases every day.

The coronavirus alone has killed nearly 1,200 Cubans. The government is relying on vaccination campaigns to fight the spread of the virus within the country.

“Here there is an unprecedented level of trust. For example we have never had a hard time finding volunteers in clinical trials. In Cuba people really want to be vaccinated. Nobody here doesn't want injections because everyone knows how important vaccination is."