{"id":237113,"date":"2021-04-05T20:09:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T00:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=237113"},"modified":"2021-04-05T20:13:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T00:13:37","slug":"batches-of-covid-19-vaccines-for-thiomersal-allergy-produced-in-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/coronavirus\/batches-of-covid-19-vaccines-for-thiomersal-allergy-produced-in-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Batches of COVID-19 vaccines for thiomersal allergy produced in Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cuban biopharmaceutical industry already produces single-dose batches of its <\/span>COVID-19 vaccine candidates<\/span><\/a> without thiomersal, for the benefit of people allergic to this substance.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this way, both Soberana 02 and Abdala, the most advanced COVID-19 vaccines on the island currently in phase III of clinical trials, can be inoculated to allergy sufferers, who until now have not been able to participate in the studies due to the use of thiomersal or thimerosal as a preservative in multi-dose presentations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople allergic to thiomersal can opt for getting vaccinated. There will be a vaccine for everyone,\u201d Dr. Dagmar Garc\u00eda Rivera, research director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV), <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> to the official Cubadebate website.<\/span><\/p>\n

The specialist explained that the pharmaceutical industry frequently uses multi-dose batches of vaccines in which thiomersal is used as a preservative, \u201cto guarantee the preservation of the sterility of the bulb that, necessarily, will be used several times to administer each of the doses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This has happened with the Cuban COVID-19 vaccine candidates, in particular with the most advanced ones, but now work is underway in the production of single-dose batches without this substance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of Soberana 02, the multi-dose presentations always contain thiomersal. The first single-dose batches that were produced also contain thiomersal, precisely because they are formulations still in the stage of pharmaceutical development and small-scale productions,\u201d said Garc\u00eda Rivera.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, she explained that as part of the productive scaling taking place in the National Center for Biopreparations (BioCen), \u201cthe last single-dose batches that have been produced and all those that will be produced from now on, will not contain thiomersal\u201d and confirmed that in the intervention study that is being carried out in Havana with Soberana 02\u2014a vaccine developed precisely by the IFV\u2014and in which health and science workers are being immunized, among other sectors, batches have already been used without that substance.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 100,000 Cuban volunteers receive first dose in studies on COVID-19 vaccines<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n