Mexico, December 30 (RHC)--Mexico's Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS) authorized for emergency use the anti-Covid-19 Abdala vaccine, developed in Cuba, the agency announced Wednesday.

According to a press release, on August 30th the agency informed that the New Molecules Committee issued its favorable opinion regarding the biological product, making it the first of Latin American origin to be evaluated by this institution.

COFEPRIS issued its authorization to use the product in the country. It is a genetically engineered antigen with the recombinant protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus receptor binding domain, it explained.

It was developed by scientists at the island's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. It has an efficacy of 92.8 percent against the coronavirus, in a three-dose schedule, according to information from the institution.

Five biological candidates against coronavirus have been developed in Cuba: Abdala, Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Soberana Plus and Mambisa, of which Abdala, Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus have already been approved and are vaccines with which the nation has immunized more than 90 percent of its population.

These drugs are in the possession of the World Health Organization to be evaluated, o be included in its emergency use list.

In relation to the authorization issued by COFEPRIS,  President Andrés Manuel López Obrador commented last October on the existence of an agreement to acquire vaccines developed in Cuba.