Officials: Cuban vaccine efficacy sparks interest

This week's anuncement of high efficacy of Cuba's COVID-19 vaccine sparked international interest, health officials said on Thursday. Health authorities reassured that both vaccine candidates Abdala and Soberana 02, exceeds international requirements to protect against new coronavirus.

re was a "hive of exchange, of emails from many counterparts," said Eulogio Pimentel, vice-president of BioCubaFarma, state company that markets medicines on island. He did t detail countries that have made requests, but in recent days Argentina, Iran and Vietnam said y were aware of development of antigens.

expectation came after Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechlogy reported Abdala's protection percent, and Finlay Institute anunced that Soberana 02 would have a minimum of 62%. Officials also stated that Venezuela received a donation of 30,000 doses of Abdala on Thursday as part of a trade agreement with Caracas. Both vaccines are expected to obtain an emergency clearance and be finally certified by World Health Organization. certification process will begin in next few days.