-At what stage are the vaccines developed by Cuba?

Cuba currently has four candidate vaccines in clinical trials, that is, in the testing phase in volunteers. Now we work on two candidates from the Finlay Institute: Soberana 01 and Soberana 02. The first is finishing a combination of phases one and two, while the second is in phase two. Instead, the other two candidates from the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology are completing phase one. This should not worry us because we plan to conclude phase three of Sovereign in March 2021.

-In phase three, how many volunteers will be employed?

We believe that there are at least 50,000 people, but it is a number that we are still discussing, since we are facing a technical problem because in Cuba there is a very low incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Therefore, a part of the clinical trials will be carried out abroad.

-How will the clinical tests be carried out?

Exactly as in the other countries, subdividing the volunteers into a control group, who will be given a placebo, and another group will receive the vaccine. The difference is that in many countries, volunteers receive compensation. In Cuba, they are offered spontaneously because there is widespread confidence in medicine and science.