López-Gatell: Abdala was tested in the population and is 93% effective

Emir Olivares and Alonso Urrutia

Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday December 28, 2022, p. 8

The vaccine against covid-19 Abdala, developed in Cuba, is 93 percent effective and is one of the two in the world that had studies in the population and not only experimental, said the Undersecretary for Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo Lopez-Gatell.

Hence, far from the systematic attempt by a sector of the Mexican press to discredit the Cuban biologic, there is scientific evidence on its robustness, efficacy, and safety, the official added.

In the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the National Palace, the undersecretary remarked that together with Pfizer, Abdala is the only vaccine tested in the population with high effectiveness, as published in September in the prestigious British scientific journal The Lancet.

It is one of the few studies with that level of scientific exploration so broad, so rigorous of the vaccine’s capacity in real conditions. It turned out to be one of the highly effective vaccines, (with) population effectiveness above 93 percent, and this is the confidence we have in a vaccine that is tested in the population, not just experimentally.he stressed.

Asked about how long the protection of the coronavirus vaccines lasts to avoid serious pictures, he explained that he still it has not been proven nothing for each biological, so it is speculation by certain sectors of the press when they state that it is from four to eight months.

Regarding the Cuban biologist, he highlighted: We insist on the evidence on the robustness, efficacy and safety and, in this case, population effectiveness of the Abdala vaccine; it is extremely consistent, it uses a very proven and innovative technology, because it is very stable.

Cuba uses this technology for other immunogens and is among the countries with the highest vaccination capacities and multiple public health programs, he asserted.

He emphasized that there is no mistrust among citizens about the efficacy of the biological produced on the island, but that it is an attempt by some media to discredit it, as at the time they tried to do with the Russian Sputnik vaccine, whose study and efficiency was also published in The Lancet.

López-Gatell even suggested that Mexico could opt for the Abdala vaccine to include it in the national vaccination scheme.

Likewise, he reported that for the eighth consecutive week, covid-19 infections in the country are on the rise, although they do not reach the figures of the most difficult months. Hospitalizations have grown at a much slower rate thanks to vaccination coverage that reaches 84 percent overall.

The weekly report from the Ministry of Health indicated that there were 31,909 confirmed infections of the disease, as well as 225 deaths. Active cases went from 30,752 on December 20 to 38,285 in yesterday’s report.

López-Gatell pointed out that the occupancy of general beds is 7 percent and that of intensive therapy (with a fan) 2 percent. Meanwhile, deaths, compared to any of the other waves of the pandemic, they are at very small levels; We have an increase that has reached 10 on average per day in each of these weeks.