The Syrian Ministry of Health began earlier this week to launch a new vaccine against COVID-19, which has recently arrived in Syria under the Cuban name Abdala.
Akram Maatouk, head of the vaccine program at the Damascus Countryside Health Directorate, announced the arrival of the Cuban vaccine in an audio message distributed to areas and health centers in the Damascus countryside governorate.
Maatouk asked the committees specialized in providing the vaccine in the regions and health centers to write the name of the vaccine in the citizen’s card in a foreign language in order to ease inquiries, noting that there are many citizens who will inquire about this vaccine and the reasons for its naming.
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Maatouk said the vaccine’s name derived from the Abdala play written by Cuba’s famous poet José Marti, and made a young Egyptian man from Nubia its hero, Abdala.
Cuban health authorities have announced that Abdala’s 3-dose vaccine has proven to be 92% effective against COVID-19 in the final phase of clinical trials.
With Abdala licensed, Cuba becomes the first Latin American country to develop and produce vaccines against COVID-19 despite the difficulties faced by its scientists due to the 1962 U.S. embargo, which was tightened under former U.S. President Donald Trump.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
