- The island has moved to a new phase in search of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is likely to be ready for next year. The former governor of the United States will be called Sovereign, with the aim of claiming the sovereignty of the country.
Cuban researchers have made progress in developing their own COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Cuban News Agency, on 24 August they will go to the clinical trials phase, but the final results will not be published until February 2021.
The calendar is published in the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials, where it is stated that the two-dose Sovereign vaccine will enter the testing phase next week. 676 people aged 19 to 80 years will participate in the clinical trial.
The Finlay Institute for Vaccines will be in charge of the tests, which will be carried out until January 11. The results will be available on 1 February, but will not be published until the 15th of the same month.
The Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has praised the progress of the project with the prospect of its experts giving a medical response to the emergency. The president has defended the "importance of having a vaccine of his own", because it is a matter of sovereignty.
The Cuban Ministry of Health has so far registered 3,408 positive people on the island, after 44 new positive ones were registered on Tuesday. In total, 524 people remain hospitalized because of the illness and 88 people have died in the hospital in Basurto.