Vérez reported that the Soberana Centro clinical trial is showing another potential reinforcement. Photo: Archivo/RHC

Havana, Sep 28 (RHC) On Tuesday, Dr. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV) said that creating anti-Covid-19 conjugate immunogens in Cuba, such as Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus, were always intended for children.

Speaking on the radio and TV program Mesa Redonda, the expert explained that this technological platform ratified its proven efficacy in other injectables, hence the safety of the application of these drugs in children under 19 years old, which made the Caribbean country the first in the world to do so.

He highlighted the performance of some 30 studies, including clinical trials and follow-up investigations six months after the third dose, which revealed high levels of antibodies with the heterologous scheme of two doses of Soberana 02 and one of Soberana Plus, the latter designed for convalescents and one of its kind in the world.

Vérez Bencomo explained that Phase I and II trials in children from three to 11 years of age showed an immune response of 90 percent after the second dose, and reached 80 percent with the third dose, both figures higher than the results in adults.

With these statistics, the national regulatory entity authorized the emergency use in children under 19 years old and currently almost one million children up to 11 years old and 642 thousand adolescents have a dose of Soberana 02 with no adverse effects.

The scientist said that Cuba will also be the first country in the world to resume teaching students vaccinated against Covid-19, a process coordinated between the Ministries of Public Health and Education as immunization progresses in this age group.

He also ratified the commitment that the achievements of Cuban science be internationally recognized and disseminated by prestigious journals such as The Lancet, with five reviewers, the latter recently devoted an article to the Soberana Plus vaccine for convalescents.

About this immunogen, he praised the importance of administring it against the Delta variant because it decreases the neutralization capacity with respect to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease, taking into account phase I and II clinical trials in the country and studies at the Amadeo di Savoia hospital, in Turin, Italy.

The IFV director confirmed the drug's safety, with an 80 percent response rate in recovered patients, a high rate in those with moderate disease and a lower rate in asymptomatic patients.

On the other hand, he reported that the Soberana Centro clinical trial, developed in the province of Cienfuegos with Soberana 01, is emerging as another potential booster.

"If you have a strong immune system, with one dose of Soberana Plus you already have an important booster. But if your response, either to natural disease or to a vaccination is weaker, you need a greater stimulus and in that particular case what we are seeing is that Soberana 01 should solve those problems," he concluded. (Source: PL)