Cuba Begins Trials of Pneumococcus Vaccine

HAVANA TIMES, May 3 — Clinical trials of a Cuban vaccine against pneumococcus will begin this year, said the director of the Finlay Institute, Concepcion Campa, during the 16th International Seminar of the Caribbean Medical Association.

After the successful trials in humans, the vaccine will be made available for adults and children to control pneumonia and other ailments caused by pneumococcus, an exclusively human pathogen, according to a report by the Cuban Information Agency.

The scientist added that the Finlay Institute’s impact on public health in Cuba has been made through the development of more than 10 vaccines over the past 20 years. These have allowed the reductions in infant mortality to less than 5 per 1,000 live births, she said.