The phase III clinical trial of the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine candidate, one of the five produced by Cuba, will take place this March in Guantánamo. The study will include 12,000 people.
The research aims to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the drug, developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Patients from 45 doctor’s offices in the five health areas of that city will participate.
Dr. Roílder Romero Frómeta said this Wednesday in a meeting of the Provincial Defense Council that the conditions for the screening are already prepared. Also that the medical personnel who will take part in it were trained and ready.
He also said that the population of each territory and the incidence rate of COVID-19 of each clinical site were taken into account. The proposal, he stressed, can be modified once the study begins, according to its actual pace and quality.
Two age groups will be involved in the trial: 56% of individuals under 50 years of age and 44% over 50. The estimated duration is ten working days with the vaccination of 1,200 people per day.
In addition to Guantánamo, Abdala’s effectiveness study covers the provincial capital of Santiago de Cuba.
A little over nine months ago, Cuban scientists began the development of nationally produced vaccines. This has made it possible to have, in different phases of the clinical trial, the COVID-19 vaccine candidates called Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Abdala and Mambisa.
