Covid-19 Vaccine Stories: II: The Inimitable Cuban Style

When Covid-19 struck, Cuba knew it will have to fight alone, because the sixty year old economic embargo by the mighty United States  prevented Cuba's access to US vaccines.  Undeterred the scientists at the Finlay Institute of Vaccines,  together with the Centre for Genetic  Engg. and Biotechnology Havana rose to the occasion.   In May 2021,  The Guardian prophesied that Cuba could become  the smallest country in the world to develop its own coronavirus vaccines. In spite of economic hardships,  the country  surged ahead. The prophesy  came  true.  Cuban Vaccines  Soberana 02 and Abdala registered +90% efficacy against Covid-19. Today more than 80% of Cuba's 11million population stands vaccinated  and    scientists  are  tweeking  Soberana-02 to meet the challenge of the Omicron variant.

In Spanish Soberana means Sovereign and Abdala is a famous Cuban patriotic poem. The Mambuses are patriotic Cuban soldiers who  have always fought for Cuba

Sobarina 02 is the first conjugate vaccine to be developed against SARS-CoV-2.   In conjugate vaccine technology, individual components elicit feeble immune response, but together they are  very powerful.  Soberana-02 contains  a fragment  of the viral spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 chemically linked to an harmless  piece of a protein snipped from tetanus toxin. These two fragments linked  in  a molar ratio of 6:1 is  adsorbed onto  alumina and suspended in an appropriate medium.  Abdla, developed by Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,

Centre for Genetic Engg.and Biotechnology,
Havana, Cuba

Havana,   is simpler,   a different   fragment of the spike protein adsorbed onto aluminium hydroxide and suspended in suitable medium.  Such protein vaccines  do not require extreme refrigeration  and are cheap and easy to  manufacture. There are several other candidates in the Cuban pipeline including a nasal vaccine  Mambisa.

In Spanish Soberana means Sovereign and Abdala is a famous Cuban patriotic drama. The Mambises are those patriotic Cuban  soldiers who defended Cuba on several occasions.

In the meanwhile Cuba has embarked on vaccine diplomacy by exporting Soberana-02   and Abdala  to Venezuela,  Nicargua, Iran and Vietnam. It would like to extend this gesture of comraderie  to less privileged nations who are in dire need of the vaccine. For this World Health Organisation's has to give the nod.

Tailpiece

“Cubans either don’t meet the mark – or go way past it.”

(Words of General Máximo Gómez, a key figure in Cuba’s 19th-century wars of independence against Spain : Guardian  5th Jan. 2022)

REFERENCES

1. Cuba punches above its weight to develop its own Covid vaccines

2.Cuba soars to near top of COVID vaccination charts on decades-old bet

3. In world first, Cuba starts COVID-19 vaccine for toddlers

4. Cuba's bet on home-grown Covid Vaccines is paying off