In a lengthy article published on La Republica newspaper, Salom pointed out that Cuba is a poor country that goes ahead in its experiments, in which a key role is played by the Finlay Vaccines Institute (IFV) and the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center (CIGB), both in Havana.

The Finlay Institute was founded in 1991 and his strength lies in the production of vaccines of bacterial origin. It has been very successful in producing more than 12 vaccines, starting by the BC antimeningococcic vaccine.

He noted that ‘Cuba has at least five possible immunogens; I say ‘possible’, because its vaccines are still in the period of experimentation; one of them, Soberana 02, is already in phase III; this implies experiments to vaccinate large populations’.

On March 31 concluded the administration of the first dose in Havana to 44,010 volunteers aged 19 to 80.

‘The second dose has to be injected to that same group, so that Soberana 02 stops being a ‘candidate’ and becomes a vaccine with a ‘letter of marque’ to be used in any country, with the quality and efficacy standards demanded,’ he pointed out.

Salom, who is also a political scientist, a former lawmaker and a former students’ leader, said that it was a great achievement that on November 3, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) included Soberana 02 in the world list of Covid-19 vaccines.

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