Cuba achieved effective control of Covid-19 in 2022

Havana, Dec 31 (RHC) Since the second half of August, no one has died in Cuba as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, proof that effective control of the disease was achieved in 2022.

The number of deaths remained at 8,530 as of December 29 since the pandemic was declared in March 2020 in the country.

Although the daily reports of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) in December show a slight increase in cases, always lower than in other countries, the Ministry adopted measures to avoid greater evils, taking into account the lessons learned from the peak of the pandemic.

The average number of infected per day, from November to December, was from 3.7 to 19.1, said the Minsap, which instructed the use of masks for the entrance to shopping malls, sales fairs, public transport, and shows in cinemas, theaters, and all those that take place in enclosed spaces.

It also recommended going immediately to the health services when respiratory symptoms appear, as well as adopting measures at home when any member of the family has any indication of the disease.

Other steps to be taken include permanent hand washing, not attending social events if the symptoms of the virus are present; extreme vigilance measures in nursing homes, schools, and other institutions with a high concentration of people, as well as the use of medicines such as Nasalferon in groups at risk.

Minsap also indicated the application of new booster doses in vaccination schedules.

The highest levels of transmission during December occurred in the provinces of Havana, Matanzas, Guantánamo, and Holguín, and 62.4 percent of the cases diagnosed in the whole country are concentrated in these territories.

This year, 207 patients died, for a lethality rate of 0.14 percent.

Another fact that supports the thesis of control of the disease is that for several weeks there was minimal or no presence of patients in intensive care.

According to the mathematical models for forecasting, the scenario regarding Covid-19 is favorable, since all the provinces maintain a tendency to control the disease.

Health authorities reported that up to December 26, 90.3 percent of the population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The archipelago has thus accumulated 42 million 678 thousand 834 doses of the Cuban vaccines Soberana 02, Soberana Plus, and Abdala and, in addition, 8 million 672 thousand 700 people received the booster dose.

Cuba's immunogens are safe and without serious adverse effects, based on successful clinical trials and vaccination of different segments of the population.

The strategy is implemented in a staggered manner, aimed at achieving greater protection against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

According to Cuba's National Statistics and Information Office, at the end of March this year, the population was 11,105,814 people.

For its part, the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba (CIGB) ratified that the anti-Covid-19 Abdala vaccine demonstrated its safety and efficacy in the fight against the pandemic, is well tolerated, and has a low rate of mild adverse events: below 0.07 per 100,000 people.

Abdala is the first anti-Covid-19 immunogen in Latin America and the Caribbean and has had emergency use authorization from the national regulatory body since July 2021, after demonstrating 92.28 percent efficacy in the prevention of symptomatic disease and 90 percent effectiveness in severe patients affected by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

It also showed a 99.15 percent increase in antibodies in volunteers aged three to 11 years and 98.28 percent in those aged 12 to 18 years.

CIGB, the developer of the vaccine, confirmed that the increase in antibody titers was fourfold or more from the first dose of the drug in these population groups.

The principal investigator of these studies, Sonia Resik, pointed out that more than 80 percent of the adverse events reported in minors were mild and the rest of the indicators were comparable with the data obtained in adults, a fact which ratified its effectiveness.

On the other hand, the Abdala vaccine, with time, maintains its safety, effectiveness, and immune response to Covid-19, which ratifies its suitability for booster doses.

Its immune response was superior in people already vaccinated with three injections of that drug and in others with Sinopharm (China) and Sputnik (Russia).

To combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuba also has the immunogens Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus, from the Finlay Vaccine Institute, and two vaccine candidates (Soberana 01 and Mambisa) in clinical trials with important results, according to official sources.

Countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, Iran, and Vietnam administer Cuban vaccines to their population.