St Vincent and the Grenadines to vaccinate 5 yrs and older with Cuban Abdala vaccine

Cuban Homegrown Abdala COVID-19 vaccine is now accessible in St Vincent and the Grenadines(SVG) to innoculate children of 5 years and above. The three-dose vaccine shows an efficacy rate of more than 90% against the virus. 

At present, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V (component 1&2), Sputnik Light (component 1) and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are available to the general public to get themselves vaccinated.  

The Ministry of Health and Wellness shared the information via a press release, informing the parents to contact their nearby vaccination sites for more details.  

The medical authorities of CECMED have already authorized the Abdala vaccine to inoculate children falling in between the age group of 2 to 11 years old. 

Last year in the month of December, St Vincent and the Grenadines received a gift of 300 doses of the Abdala vaccine from Cuba, becoming the first Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to authorize the use of the drug. 

SVG Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves then cited, “I went to Cuba for the ALBA meeting on Tuesday 14 (December), and on Wednesday we brought, as a gift from Cuba, 300 doses of Abdala for 100 people. I think we are the first people to have received Abdala in the Caribbean”.  

So far, 30.2% of the total population in St Vincent and the Grenadines, whereas around 23.7% of the population is fully vaccinated. 

More about the Abdala vaccine: 

The technical name of the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine is CIGB-66, which is developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Cuba. The vaccine is being administered in 3 doses with a time period of 2 weeks apart. 

The vaccine has been named after a patriotic drama by Cuban independence hero José Martí is a protein subunit vaccine containing COVID-derived proteins that trigger an immune response. The full consequences of the clinical trial have not yet been published.