The influx of people to the vaccination centers authorized by the Health Department of the Municipality of Mexico where the Cuban drug is inoculated Rather It is poordespite the country experiencing a sixth wave of infections from COVID-19 and the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador bought the medicine and praised its properties.
This has been confirmed by Spanish newspaper Villagewho indicated that one of the reasons for the lack of success of the initiative is the distrust of an injectable that does not protect against the variants of Omicron, which are more contagious and widespread today, since Abdala has not been approved by the World Organization for healthcare (WHO).).
The booster vaccination campaign, aimed at those over 18, began on December 21, but according to the report, “Partly due to the dates, partly due to the doubts that the Cuban vaccine has sown, people have come with droppers to administer the booster these days”.
The island’s authorities, which maintain excellent political relations with the Mexican government, celebrated the shipment of 4,000,000 doses of Abdala to the neighboring country, of which 400,000 would have been applied in all vaccination centers in Mexico City . .
Hugo López Gatell, undersecretary of health, announced in this regard: “We have already received more than four million doses of the Cuban Abdala vaccine, a highly effective vaccine that we will use in various reinforcement programs for the adult population”.
However, Village talked to Verónica Athié, PhD in Immunology and part of the “Let’s Vaccinate with Evidence” initiative, which noted: “It’s not the right vaccine to use as a booster because it’s aimed at the parent strain. There are no studies for that use and that won’t protect us from Ómicron variants.”
The report confirmed in the morning of Friday December 23 that there were ten people to be vaccinated at the Doctor José María Rodríguez hospital, in the Asturias neighborhood of the Mexican capital.
Wenceslao Hernández, one of those present, wanted to wear the Abdala after having previously received four doses of Astra Zeneca. “There is no need to be afraid, because if we don’t put it on it will be worse for us and we will die of suffocation,” said the 60-year-old.
A local government official confirmed that Village that in two hours of the morning about 40 people had presented themselves to be vaccinated in that treatment center.
On the same site, Sandra Barba, 36, commented after wearing Abdala: “I was actually very undecided, because there isn’t enough information or the same evidence that exists for other vaccines. I don’t know if it serves as a reinforcement. I only did this because I got my last vaccine on October 21, 2021, i.e. I’ve had over a year with no booster or anything. That’s the only thing in Mexico, it’s not like we have options. I thought it was better to have something than nothing. But I’m not satisfied or calm.”
The Mexican Ministry of Health ensures that 84% of people over the age of five are vaccinated in the country, while Havana says its alleged victory over the disease is the result of its own production of injectables. However, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) has never clarified why it has used, in addition to Cuban drugs, The Chinese Sinopharmand he did not say how many doses of that medicine he applied.
More than a year ago, Cuban authorities announced they would take the necessary steps to obtain WHO approval for their vaccines. After several announcements, extensions and postponements, until last November The Abdala evaluation process was pending and no date for a verdict.
A few days ago, the Cuban government admitted that the process of evaluating and recognizing its vaccines is delayed due to production problems and illiquidity.
However, so far Cuban injectables have been sold to political allies such as Vietnam, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belarus, Mexico and Iran, while countries like Syria would receive donations. This, thanks to the authorizations of national regulators.
But, as Verónica Athié recalled Village“If the WHO has not approved it, it is because all the required technical requirements have not been met which give confidence that this vaccine will be safe and effective”.
“When a vaccine is developed, a small fragment of one of the microorganism’s proteins is targeted. For the Abdala vaccine, they chose the RBD domain of the SARS-CoV2 spike protein. This domain is exactly what changed the la most with the mutations of the virus,” he stressed.
