Optimism as Cuba set to test its own Covid vaccine
By Will Grant
Cuba correspondent, BBC News
Published 8 hours ago
Some of the equipment at the Finlay Institute of Vaccines in Havana might be considered outdated elsewhere in the world but the science taking place behind its white-washed walls is cutting edge.
Researchers are working long shifts on Cuba's best shot to solve its coronavirus crisis: Soberana 2, the island's domestically-produced Covid-19 vaccine.
Soberana (Spanish for "sovereign"
2 is a conjugate vaccine - meaning an antigen is fused to a carrier molecule to bolster the vaccine's stability and effectiveness.
Within weeks, it will be tested on tens of thousands of volunteers.
Vicente Vérez Bencomo says the results from the first trials have been encouraging
. . .
No US role
It is an ambitious goal but a realistic one as Cuba has more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology and immunology.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56069577
