Venezuela launches mass vaccination against COVID-19

Caracas (Venezuela), June 29: Venezuelan health authorities on Monday launched a mass vaccination drive against COVID-19 in Caracas, the capital of the country, using the Abdala vaccine developed in Cuba.
"The arrival in Venezuela of these first doses is the realization of the decision of the Cuban people to collaborate with the peoples of the region in the fight against the pandemic," said Pedro Almendares, the local representative of vaccine-maker BioCubaFarma.
Recently Cuba signed a contract with the Venezuelan Ministry of Health for the purchase of 12 million vaccines, which will gradually be delivered to the South American country by October, said Almendares.
The agreement between the two nations will facilitate the immunization of 4 million Venezuelans, as the Abdala vaccine requires three doses per person.
In the first shipment, "30,000 doses of vaccines arrived that will make it possible to immunize 10,000 people between the ages of 19 and 80," he added.
In clinical trials, Abdala, one of five vaccine candidates in national production in Cuba, was applied to treat worrisome coronavirus variants such as those that emerged in Britain and South Africa, with results showing over 92 percent efficacy, according to Almendares.
In Caracas, the vaccine was being applied to thousands of residents at the Ciudad Tiuna housing complex.
Source: Xinhua