It could be the human aspect of the work, the confidence returned, the lives saved here. Or perhaps the thousand and one expressions of brotherhood that have marked the hopes of Venezuela, over more than two decades.

There must be a reason. But as the unmistakable people in white lab coats make their way to the vaccination center, the humble of Ciudad Tiuna, in the Caracas municipality of Libertador, seem to see the dawn approaching.

“There they are, may the Lord bless them,” exclaimed a middle-aged woman from Caracas, when she saw them appear on a corner, a few meters away from the Simoncito Early Childhood Center, one of the vaccination sites where the Cuban vaccine Abdala is being administered. The first 10,000 residents, of the four million projected across the country, will receive their three doses here.

The sun had not yet climbed the hills that surround this city, and those in the white coats, almost all very young, were here, amidst jokes, affection and good humor, with their very Cuban greetings, which were reciprocated with a murmured thank you.

Not a trace of discouragement. No bitterness among these “slaves,” as the enemies of Cuba want to portray them, with no qualms about the malicious nature of their slanders, meant to discredit the work of our health personnel, who have served in more than 160 nations around the world, and helped battle the coronavirus in 40.

No one could blame these professionals for feeling frustrated, if there were a speck of truth in the Goebbelian statements made by Antony Blinken last July 1, when he returned to his cynical discourse, in another attempt to link our country to human trafficking.

“I don’t give a lick about this outrage against us, as they say here,” said Alía Acosta Sala, a nurse from the Isle of Youth, on her second mission in Venezuela. “No one forced me to come here; I am here of my own free will, only the call of duty dictates.”

“They want to justify all the evil they do to us”, Alía continued, while injecting Abdala into a Venezuelan shoulder, “They slander us to tarnish the solidarity effort we make, while they, with much greater resources, do nothing,” she said, before invoking a very Cuban song: “They can’t stop us.”

Similar views were expressed by Dr. Luis Bueno Pardo, a 34 year old doctor from Santiago de Cuba, a specialist in General Comprehensive Medicine, and Delia Virgen Yero, a nurse from Manzanillo, both of whom are working in the Abdala vaccination program, in the urban area of Ciudad Tiuna.

“Thank you and God bless you are the words and phrases we most hear from Venezuelans these days,” says Delia Virgen, “We have had to clarify a few aspects of the vaccine to some, it is true, but I have received the blessing of many; some have dedicated poems to us, and I have seen others cry with gratitude.”

A few meters away, in the same room, as if to confirm that intrigue and lies will never undermine the prestige of Cuban medicine, Juan Velázquez, a 57-year-old driver, admits, “I had my doubts when I heard about this vaccine; some people out there don’t say very good things about it.”

“So why did you come, despite your doubts?” I ask.
“I’m here because the vaccine is Cuban; I want to take care of my life.”

(Taken from Granma)

A call for a meeting made by the United States to the Organization of American States (OAS) to “analyze the situation in Cuba,” no doubt to justify interference, failed miserably due to the refusal of the majority of its member countries.

Party Political Bureau member and Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla posted a tweet yesterday, July 28, describing the events as a defeat for the U.S. within the pro-imperialist entity.

“Anti-Cuban maneuver in the OAS defeated. Rejection by a majority of member states forced suspension of a Permanent Council meeting,” the Foreign Minister stated, adding that the President pro tempore of the Council admitted the failure through a “pathetic letter insulting Cuba.”

Rodríguez Parrilla also thanked the countries which “defended Latin American and Caribbean dignity,” refusing to support the maneuver.

According to a report by Russia Today, Washington Abdala, president pro tempore of the Permanent Council, reported that, after receiving statements from several countries, it was decided to postpone the meeting to conduct consultations that could be useful.

Abdala added that he has asked the organization’s Secretariat for Legal Affairs to prepare a report on the situation in Cuba in relation to the OAS – an organization with no moral authority and a long history of betraying the peoples of Latin America. He said the document will be shared with OAS members when it is available.

(Taken from Granma)

In fact, clinical trials have already in children aging from 3 to 18 years.

Soberana-Pediatría is the first study authorized in Cuba for children aging three to 18.

350 minors and teens volunteered to be vaccinated in this first study and will be administered with a heterologous vaccination schedule of 0-28 and 56 days, with two Soberana 02 doses and one of Soberana Plus, both developed by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, and proving a 91.2% of effectiveness.

On Monday, the first 25 teens received their second Soberana 02 dose.

The sample is divided into two groups: the first made up of adolescents from 12 to 18 and the second of children from three to 11.

The objective of the trial is to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of these candidates.

Meanwhile, a pediatric clinical trial with Abdala candidate begins today in the province of Camagüey, with nearly 600 children and adolescents from that territory volunteering in two phases.

Dr. Sonia Resik, senior researcher, specified that in this clinical trial – named Ismaelillo – the candidate´s safety and immunogenicity will be assessed.

‘In its Phase I, the clinical trial was conceived in two stages: the first one will include teenagers aging 12 to 18 years who are physically and mentally fit, and who have the consent of their parents,’ said Resik.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

Health authorities are leading the process with this local product to also ensure that 60 percent of Cubans get their three doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccine shots by next August.

Localities like Cotorro, Boyeros and Arroyo Naranjo closed yesterday their vaccination scheme with this molecule from the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), which showed 92.28 percent efficacy in clinical trials.

At the end of last May, a health intervention with ‘Abdala’ began in this capital, with 15 municipalities and more than two million inhabitants, that process has already been completed by other territories: East Havana, San Miguel del Padrón, Regla and Guanabacoa.

In this way, according to health officials in the capital, more than three million doses of the product have been administered in the almost 400 clinical sites available in all its localities.

In the coming days, they will complete vaccination in Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and Cerro, while people from Marianao, La Lisa, Playa, Plaza de la Revolución and Diez de Octubre are currently getting the second injection, the scheme presents three doses in zero, 14 and 28 days.

The vaccine, which just a few days ago received authorization from the Cuban regulatory authority for emergency use, is administered at the same time in 37 other municipalities in the country.

Cuba has recently faced a strong transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, with daily numbers of infection that exceed six thousand and there are 263 thousand 86 confirmed patients in 16 months of pandemic.

Western province of Matanzas is currently the epicenter of the disease, and ‘Abdala’ is now being administered in the provincial capital municipality, as well as in Colón, Cárdenas, Limonar, Ciénaga de Zapata and Los Arabos.

Applied in eastern province of Santiago de Cuba as part of phase III of its clinical trial, and in a territory contributing also to a large number of infections, at the present time, towns of San Luis, Contramaestre, Songo-La Maya, Palma Soriano and the provincial capital itself are also receiving the immunogen.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

Through the first half of June, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Cienfuegos had been able to control new COVID-19 infections in their territories. But the three provinces are now experiencing a dangerous increase in new cases, and yesterday, July 7, was no exception: reporting, 151, 218 and 192, respectively.

For this reason, Communist Party Central Committee First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, and the ministers of Domestic Commerce, Finance & Prices, and Transportation, traveled to these central provinces to analyze the response to this emergency with local authorities, which cannot be the same as that of previous months, since the level and intensity of transmission have changed, for the worse.

During the three discussions, President Díaz-Canel returned time and again to the basic challenges, insisting on the importance of epidemiological research to determine what has happened in each of the three provinces, leading to this deterioration. We must identify the causes, he said, work with the numbers, find out exactly where outbreaks occurred, determine which strains are circulating, because otherwise we will be working blindly and ineffectively.

(Taken from Granma)

As reported on the Mesa Redonda television program, the trials will include 592 children and adolescents between three and 18 years of age. It will include volunteers and is entitled Ismaelillo, in honor of the poem that José Martí dedicated to his son.

This is a Phase I-II adaptive, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, clinical investigation to evaluate, in apparently healthy Cuban children and adolescents, the safety and immunogenicity of a two-dose administration of the candidate vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

In order to participate in the study, an informed consent form must be signed by parents or legal guardians, as well as volunteers over 12 years of age.

The approval issued by Cecmed was based on a number of factors, specifically the currently alarming epidemiological situation, the significant increase of positive cases in the pediatric population, and information obtained in previous clinical trials with adult subjects.

Also reported was the news that Soberana 02 has been authorized by the Pasteur Institute of Iran for emergency use in the Islamic Republic.

According to a statement from Iranian Health Minister Dr. Said Nemeki, the vaccine will be marketed in the territory under the Pasteur name, within the framework of a collaboration agreement signed in January with the Finlay Vaccine Institute.

The authorization of Soberana 02 for emergency use in Iran was made on the basis of the product’s pharmaceutical development results, which demonstrated safety and immunogenicity in Phase I and II clinical trials conducted in Cuba, which showed 62% efficacy in the two-dose regimen.

(Taken from Granma)

A three-dose regimen of the Abdala candidate vaccine has demonstrated an efficacy of 92.28 percent, placing it well above the World Health Organization (WHO) requirement of at least 50 percent, to be recognized as an anti-COVID-19 vaccine.

Over the course of 48 hours, from Saturday to Monday, Cuba, a small, poor country, has shaken the world, noted Party First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, in a meeting, yesterday afternoon, with researchers at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), where Abdala was developed.

The President decided to meet with the scientists after learning about the efficacy analysis of Abdala at Monday’s meeting of the government’s COVID-19 prevention and control group.

He had visited the Finlay Vaccine Institute on Saturday, after learning that its Soberana 02 candidate vaccine, with just two doses, had demonstrated 62% efficacy – without a third booster dose of Soberana Plus, which should produce an superior response.

Abdala’s efficacy places it among vaccines with the best results in the world, which have all been produced in the principal laboratories of the most developed countries with financing of hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, something that for Cuba is impossible, even more so given the tightening of the economic, commercial and financial blockade during the pandemic.

In presenting the findings, she highlighted the work of the teams of scientists who conducted Phase I/II and III clinical trials in Santiago de Cuba, Bayamo, Guantanamo and Havana, and thanked the 48,000 volunteers who participated in the study.

The final analysis of Abdala’s efficacy in preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19, which was conducted by an independent group led by the Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics and Physics, showed not only a response to the initial strain of SARS-CoV-2 (DG614G), but also the Alpha, Beta and Gamma mutations, she explained.

Dr. Ayala recalled that the clinical trial included a placebo group and a vaccinated group, with three administrations over a period of 0-14-28 days. She noted that the studies continue, that new evaluations and conclusions will continue to be drawn.

She also highlighted the work of the Immunoassay Center, AICA Laboratories and other scientific centers, as well as t Public Health workers, who conducted a rapid, high quality vaccination process, difficult to achieve in other countries around the world.

The researchers, she added, are gratefully dedicating this accomplishment to Comandante en jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, founder of the CIGB, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, Party First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the center’s pioneer scientists.

After listening to the findings, the First Secretary commented, “One feels proud to be Cuban and to have compatriots like you.”

The results are really impressive, he reiterated and recalled the early days of the pandemic, when “I was convinced that poor countries were not going to have access to vaccines within a short period time, that the rich world was producing to prioritize the rich.

“This is why I asked our scientists (to assume the task), with the conviction, with the certainty that we could do it, that it was necessary to have Cuban vaccines to be sovereign in this situation, as well.”

We, he added, are among the few who, having the vaccines to resolve Cuba’s problems, are thinking about how, with these same vaccines, we can solve the problems of millions in the world, and above all of the millions who have less and live today in tremendous uncertainty caused by the disease.

“On behalf of Cuba, congratulations,” Díaz-Canel concluded, thanking the CIGB researchers who have worked on the creation of Abdala, meeting the highest standards as an anti-COVID-19 vaccine.

(Taken from Granma)

As anticipated, the process was initiated at the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital in Havana, strictly adhering to protocols, with all the rigor and organization required, beginning the first day.

Dr. Meiby de la Caridad Rodríguez González, director of Clinical Research at the IFV, explained that the first volunteers were among those who responded to a call on June 11, when their parents expressed interest in having their children participate in the trial.

She noted, “We received more volunteers than were included in the study, who, after the rigorous process required for Phase I, 25 were selected, which was the sample size determined for the 12 to 18 age group.”

Once the parents and adolescents agreed to take part in the study, signing the informed consent and assent document, the clinical evaluation process began and they were summoned to the hospital Monday.

(Taken from Granma)

Prior to the injection, another physical evaluation and verification of vital parameters were again performed, to make a final decision about their inclusion and proceed to inoculation of the candidate vaccine.

Subsequently, as has been the case with the adult population, the young volunteers remained under observation for one hour, to address and record any possible adverse side effects of the immunogen.

In this regard, Dr. Rodriguez Gonzalez pointed out that, in the event of any serious reactions, all conditions are prepared at the clinical site within the hospital which has extensive experience in conducting trials in pediatric age groups.

After the hour of observation, specialized health personnel re-checked subjects’ vital signs, as well as the condition of the vaccination site, before discharging the volunteer and making follow-up appointments for the following day, as well as within 48 and 72 hours.

“We are optimistic that we are not going to see serious adverse side effects, the trial has been rigorously prepared, we chose this site, with all the conditions in place, so the research team, parents and everyone in general can be sure that the clinical trial will be carried out successfully,” Dr. Rodriguez insisted.

Approved on June 10 by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED), this trials that will take place at the Juan Manuel Marquez Pediatric Hospital in Havana will be sequential, open and adaptive for three to 18 years of age.

To carry this out, 350 volunteers in pediatric ages will be divided into two age groups: from 12 to 18 and from three to 11.

This stage aims to assess the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the prophylactic vaccine candidates designed by the Finlay Institute of Vaccines (IFV) in Havana, at 28-day periods, a scheme already applied to the adult population.

Dr. Meiby de la Caridad Rodriguez, director of Clinical Research at IFV, explained that after every dose, children will remain under surveillance for an hour at the vaccination center, then they will have to go again every 24, 48 and 72 hours so that the specialists verify if they had adverse effects related to the vaccine.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

On his Twitter account, the president said that the prohibition of child labor is one of the elements of the right to employment in Cuba and added that the State guarantees the protection of minors and their interests, according to international law and commitments.

On the World Day against Child Labor, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also ratified on Twitter that of the 160 million children who are engaged in a kind of work activity, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), none is Cuban.

The foreign minister added that the high level of education of the Cuban population and the assistance to families guarantee childhood security.

Recently, UNICEF and the International Labor Organization (ILO) issued a report in which they warned that child labor cases rose by 8.4 million in the past four years, and at present 160 million of children are engaged in a kind of work activity.

The situation has worsened due the Covid-19 pandemic, the document indicates, and it highlights that progress to eradicate this problem was stalled for the first time in 20 years.

The text also stresses the growing number of children from 5 to 11 years of age who are engaged in child labor, which is slightly more than half of the total.

(Prensa Latina)