CAMAGÜEY.- This Tuesday little Keyler Brito Díaz went to the Julio Antonio Mella polyclinic in the city to put his shoulder as “Chamaquili”, where 20 children from three to eleven years old received the initial dose of Abdala. Phase one of the Ismaelillo clinical trial in this age range is carried out when boys from 12 to 18 are already in a second stage.
Keyler was the first to sit in the "puncture chair" and although the father did not stop talking about how impatient he was waiting for the day, his eyes only showed emotion and tranquility. Peace of mind because he knows that it is part of a beautiful history of the investigation in the country and because it was his mother who, like his older brother Cristian, put a small large portion of hope on his arm .
“This injection is very good because it saves. I was the only one in my family who was missing to put it on and I already wanted it to touch me. There is less and less time to play with my friends, although my mother says that you have to continue taking care of yourself and she knows why she is the one who vaccinates. What she does is very important, that is why I am proud that she is a nurse, ”said the minor.
Near him, in the room prepared for the observation, was the little ten-year-old Arleen Ortega Pérez. “I was not afraid. At home they explained to me that I am one of the first brave and that thanks to us all children in Cuba will be able to be vaccinated. When that happens we can go to the parks and go back to school. We must not cry because the puncture does not hurt at all and kills COVID-19 ”.
Beside her, grandmother Marianela Fernández Concepción revealed that they never hesitated to include her in the Ismaelillo essay. “We trust our scientists and we try to transmit that trust to her. As the family doctor informed us of the procedures, we discussed them so that she would understand perfectly. I think that would be one of the greatest contributions that we can make from home ”.
Regarding the behavior of the study in the territory, the lawyer Nelvis Figueroa Baile, monitor of the department of clinical trials and vaccines of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of the capital of the country, commented that to date the process has progressed satisfactorily.
“We are committed to the quality of the work in Camagüey, since it was here that we carried out the first seven trials of the vaccine against the bacterial agent Haemophilus influenzae, which causes meningitis and pneumonia. Both the population and the researchers have a culture created to respond positively to any such task.
“We would like to include many more, but we work with a limited sample considering that it is still a study. Given the complicated epidemiological situation in the country, it is logical that parents want to immunize their children, however they understand that the massive intervention of minors will depend on the rigor of what we do today. They trust that Abdala in Cuba is the future ”.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez