Therese Sta. MariaIn case you have not heard yet, Cuba developed homegrown vaccines against COVID-19 called Abdala and Soberana. Unlike other Latin American countries, Cuba bet everything on its renowned biotech sector to come up with the country’s own vaccines to counter the pandemic and refrain from buying foreign jabs.
Although these vaccines are still waiting to be approved by the World Health Organization, Cuban authorities are already confident that their vaccines work. The Cuba vaccines were based on recombinant protein technology, the same one used in the Novavax and Sanofi vaccines in the US and France, respectively.
Also read: How I Spent Two Weeks in Cuba
Cuba vaccinates toddlers against COVID-19
After conducting clinical trials of the Abdala and Soberana vaccines on minors, the Cuban government decided to inoculate children from two years old and above. The Latin American country kicked off its vaccinations on kids aged 2 to 11 on 6 Sep 2021, Monday, in the province of Cienfuegos. This makes Cuba the first-ever country to vaccinate children below the age of 12.
Image credit: ansalmo_juvaga
The goal is to not only provide protection for young Cubans but also to put them back in school for face-to-face classes. Cuba, which has a population of 11.2 million, aims to vaccinate all of its children before reopening schools gradually starting October or November 2021.
Physical access to schools is paramount to Cuban children as most households do not have Internet access. Because of this, the country started the new school year via television programs. If you’re planning to spend a holiday in Cuba, you should also know that Cuba reopened to all foreign tourists in 2020. But in everything, remember to follow health and safety protocols!
Featured image credit: Alexander Kunze | Unsplash
