Cuba says its coronavirus vaccine is effective

Cuba on Monday touted its new coronavirus vaccine, saying trials show that it is effective against the virus. 

The Abdala vaccine was found in late-stage clinical trials to be 92.28 percent effective against the virus, state-run biopharmaceutical company BioCubaFarma and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology said, Reuters reported.

The three-dose vaccine adds to another similar vaccine, Soberana 2, that was announced days ago to be 62 percent effective against the virus after the second shot.

BioCubaFarma is responsible for the Sobrena 2 and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology made the Abdala vaccine.

Cuba is relying on its own vaccines to vaccinate its population. The country has 1.2 million people out of 11.2 million people fully vaccinated.

The Abdala and Sobrena 2 vaccines are expected to be granted emergency authorization in the country shortly. 

The country has had over 165,000 reported cases and over 1,100 deaths. 

Cuba is also working on another coronavirus vaccine in conjunction with Iran. 

The new vaccines come as Cuba is facing another outbreak of the coronavirus in the country. 

Many countries are dealing with new outbreaks of the virus due to new variants that seem to spread faster.