Cuba Launches its Own Vaccine Called Abdala

Cuba has claimed to have developed its own vaccine against Covid-19. Named Abdala, the vaccine has shown tremendous efficacy in combating coronavirus.

Considering the clinical data disclosed on Monday, the vaccine is 92% effective against the virus. The efficacy rate places Abdala among the most effective Covid vaccines, including Pfizer’s, Moderna’s and Russia’s Sputnik V.

More interesting still, many countries, including Mexico, Argentina, Vietnam, and Iran, have reportedly expressed interest in purchasing the country’s first indigenous vaccine.

“Hit by the pandemic, our scientists at the Finlay Institute and Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology have risen above all the obstacles and given us two very effective vaccines,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted.

People need to take 3 shots of the vaccine to be fully protected, according to local media reports.  Already, close to a million people have received a jab, mostly in the capital of Havana.

Despite the vaccination drive, the disease has continued to wreak havoc, with the communist country reporting more than 1,500 new cases on Monday alone.

So far, the island of 11 million has reported a total of 169,365 Covid-19 cases and 1,170 fatalities. The new cases are largely blamed on the Beta variant of coronavirus, first found in South Africa.