Cuba to use Sinopharm vaccine alongside homemade doses

Cuba, which has so far exclusively marketed its homemade COVID-19 vaccines, is also starting to use the Sinopharm vaccine of its communist-led ally China in its bid to combat one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world.

Health authorities will use two doses of Sinopharm combined with a Cuban booster in the central province of Cienfuegos starting Sunday; Vicente Verez, head of the Cuban Finlay vaccine institute, was quoted as saying by the provincial state outlet 5deSeptiembre.

The efficiency of the vaccine combo is over 90%, according to the outlet, without detailing where the data came from or whether the Cuba drug regulator authorized the use of the Chinese vaccine. The World Health Organization gave the Sinopharm a heads up for emergency approval in May.

Authorities, which said earlier this month they would be able to produce enough vaccines for all Cubans by September, have not explained why they chose to utilize Chinese doses now.

"It seems obvious the decision to introduce Sinopharm on Cienfuegos is linked to the insufficient availability of Cuban vaccines and the gravity caused by the explosion of cases," said Brazilian Cuban virologist Amilcar Perez Riverol.

The health ministry said in May that the plan was to vaccinate around 70% of the population by August, but so far, only 30% have been vaccinated, stated Perez Riverol, who has become an expert on Cuban COVID-19 data analysis, on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Cuba has one of the highest COVID-19 caseloads globally. The increase in coronavirus cases is overpowering Cuba's vigorous health care system, which focuses heavily on prevention and primary care.

The recent COVID wave comes while the country is experiencing a shortage of essential goods, including medicine, which has sparked demonstrations against the government, leading to the biggest national protests last month.

Cuban authorities continue to blame the US for causing a crisis with its sanctions, have welcomed donations of medical supplies and food by allies such as China. However, it is not clear whether the Sinopharm vaccines are donated or purchased.

Government critics have long called for foreign vaccinations instead of relying solely on home-grown doses, accusing it of seeking prestige and good publicity over health care. Authorities said they would rather focus scarce resources on intensive development and production than importers.

US President Joe Biden said last month that the United States was ready to send vaccines to Cuba if it was assured that an international organization would administer them.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel replied that if the United States cared about the island's humanitarian situation, it would lift the sanctions, which he accused, among other things, of slowing down the production of its homemade vaccines.

Cuba is the only Latin American country that completed the development of two COVID-19 vaccines, Soberana 2 and Abdala, which have sparked the interest of nations worldwide, from Jamaica and Mexico to Vietnam and Argentina.

It says the three-shot vaccines both have efficiencies of over 90%, even though the data has not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.