Cuba is preparing to vaccinate its children, the entire population

HAVANA, Sept. 1 (Reuters) – Cuba will begin vaccinating teens against COVID-19 this week and younger children starting in mid-September as part of an effort to vaccinate more than 90 percent of the population in December, state media reported Wednesday.

All children ages 2 to 18 will receive at least two doses of the Sovereign-2 vaccine developed in Cuba as of Sept. 3, Cubadebate official digital media reported.

Ministry of Health official Ileana Morales Suarez was quoted as saying the campaign would resemble annual vaccinations against various childhood diseases, which will take place at thousands of family clinics and doctor’s offices.

According to state-owned manufacturer Finlay Institute, vaccine trials in minors found it to be safe and to elicit a stronger immune response than in adults.

The decision was announced at a weekly meeting of leaders and scientists to address the communist-led Caribbean pandemic on the Caribbean island, which is currently battling a wave driven by a variant of the Delta that has strained its health system and affected the younger population much harder than previous versions of the virus. .

Over the past week, Cuba had an average of between 6,500 and 7,000 cases a day and between 70 and 80 deaths, a significant drop from a few weeks ago, but still one of the highest rates in the world in terms of cases. per 100,000 inhabitants.

Vaccination of the adult population primarily through another locally developed trait, Abdala, will be intensified with the goal of ensuring that all eligible adults begin treatment of at least three shots by the end of the month.

Cubans are desperate to get their children back to school after months of home schooling, a prospect postponed again this September.

The country suffers from a shortage of everything from food and medicine to parts and supplies for power plants and agriculture, due to the closure of the tourism industry, harsh US sanctions and its own inefficiencies.

He desperately wants to tame the disease in time for the tourist season that begins in November.

Both Cuban vaccines, with a reported efficacy of more than 90%, have been approved by local regulators for emergency use, although data have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.

In the capital, Havana, where more than 60% of the 2.2 million residents are completely vaccinated, cases and deaths per 100,000 residents are well below the national average, according to government statistics.

Currently, about 50% of Cuba’s 11.3 million residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, with more than 3.5 million fully vaccinated.

Report by Marc Frank Edited by Daniel Flynn and Bill Berkrot

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