WHO obstacle to Cuban vaccines! Still not exportable

WHO obstacle to Cuban vaccines! / The socialist Caribbean state has developed vaccines itself. But there are a few hurdles for worldwide distribution.

At their afternoon theater group, the Cuban children sing the pandemic song. That’s part of the program. The parents rock to the beat. All children have been vaccinated for months – a success story that should also be celebrated by the population of the socialist Caribbean state.

Not only is Cuba the only Latin American country developing its own vaccines during the pandemic. But it also has another significant advantage, says Maria Eugenia Toledo Romani, head of research at the Cuban Finlay Institute. “Unlike the rest of the world, Cuba has developed a child-friendly vaccine right away,” says the scientist. “When Omikron came, it was a catastrophe for many countries in Europe, the number of cases skyrocketed. At this point, our children were all vaccinated.”

US embargo means no foreign exchange

While the USA and other European countries have only gradually developed vaccines for younger children, Cuba began vaccinating infants from the age of two as early as autumn last year. The country has many years of experience in vaccine development. What would otherwise have taken ten years, the Cuban scientists accomplished in two.

And that despite a massive economic crisis. With the absence of tourists, there is a lack of foreign exchange. And in this case, too, the US embargo is a major obstacle, says Cuba expert Bert Hoffmann from the GIGA Institute in Hamburg. Especially for the financial transactions. “Banks are not allowed to pre-finance deals with Cuba that are under the aegis of the United States, and of course that hinders everything,” says Hoffmann. “That also hinders a process like vaccine production, where Cuba is very dependent on the import of equipment, medical equipment, but also preliminary products that are needed for the production of vaccines.”

In the end, it didn’t prevent vaccine development, but delayed it. The Cuban vaccines Soberana 2 and Abdala have been widely used. Cuban studies document a high level of effectiveness. Critics point to the lack of documentation in scientific journals.

Lack of medication as the price for high vaccination rates

After emergency approval was granted in Cuba, more than 95 percent of the population was fully vaccinated within a few months – one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. But even that had its price. Because half of the health budget was invested in vaccine development. There is a lack of all other medicines.

The Cuban government had also focused on export during development. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has still not officially approved any of the Cuban vaccines. Because not only the vaccine, but also the production chain is checked – the TÜV for the vaccine, so to speak.

The Cuba expert Hoffmann criticizes that the process is exaggerated: “It’s designed according to First World standards. These are the big pharmaceutical companies, which also keep the competition at bay by making the demands so high that they actually only can really be implemented by resource-strong corporations.”

A vaccine for poorer countries? / WHO obstacle to Cuban vaccines!

Nevertheless, the Cuban vaccine with emergency approval from the respective countries has already been approved in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Vietnam, among others. In addition, vaccine doses based on the Cuban active substance are produced in Iran.

Cooperation with Italy is also on the way, explains the head of research at the Cuban Finlay Institute. “The advantage of these vaccines is that they don’t need extreme refrigeration. They just need to be stored between two and eight degrees,” she says. “The production costs are comparatively low, so it makes sense that they can be used in this context in disadvantaged regions of the world.”

Only certification by the WHO remains a hurdle for this.