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The story of Cuba giving its drug an Arabic name, which shows surprising results..
Cuba announced, on Monday, June 21, 2021, that its experimental vaccine, called “Abdullah”, showed that it was effective against the Coronavirus by 92.28%, in a precedent in Latin America, and it is expected that the vaccine will obtain an official license from the authorities to use it at the end of June current or early July.
The story of naming a vaccine “Abdullah”
With Cuba’s announcement of Abdullah’s vaccine, his name seemed familiar in the Arab region. Indeed, the vaccine was named after a character mentioned in the literature that talks about the struggle to liberate the land from the colonizers.
This name came from a poem written by the famous Hispanic Cuban politician, journalist, and poet, José Martí Pérez, who is widely regarded as the epitome of the “messenger of Cuban independence”.
The British “Britannica” Encyclopedia indicates that Martí is one of the national heroes in his country and a symbol of the struggle for Cuban independence from the Spanish colonizer. The Cubans fought a war against Spanish colonialism, which began in 1898 and lasted until 1895.
Marti was an admirer of Islamic civilization, though he had not visited any Arab country, he was very fond of the Arabs, and he reflected this in his works, which total 28 volumes.
Speaking about the Arabs, Marti said that they are “graceful, attractive beings, who make up a people who are the noblest and elegant on the face of the earth.” Marti composed a poetic play in 1869, which he called “Abdullah,” hence the name Cuba for its vaccine.
And Abdullah, whom the Cuban poet talked about in his play, is a young man whom the poet presented as being from “Nuba,” and that he is fighting for the liberation of his country.
It is known about “Nubia” that it is the region located in southern Egypt along the Nile River to northern Sudan, and most of the Nuba is located in Sudan, and the equivalent of 25% of it is located in Egypt, and reports indicated that Abdullah, who is mentioned in Jose’s work, is from Egypt, despite the poetic play did not include a mention of this Arab country.
In addition to the play “Abdullah,” Marti had also written a collection of books called “Ismail al-Saghir,” who is the father of the Arabs, the son of Abraham (peace be upon him), and singles out many Arabs in it.
Abdullah Vaccine’s Development
The Abdullah Cuban vaccine is being developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and this experimental vaccine has reached the final stage of clinical trials, and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was quick to congratulate his country on this achievement, according to Agence France-Presse.
In a tweet on Twitter, Cannell said, “Our scientists at the Finlay Institute and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology who are facing two pandemics (Covid and the ban) overcame all odds, and gave us two highly effective vaccines: Soberana 2 and Abdala (Abdullah).”
If these two vaccines obtain licenses, as is expected, Cuba will become the first country in Latin America to develop and produce vaccines against Covid-19, despite the difficulties faced by its scientists due to the US embargo imposed on it since 1962, which was tightened during the era of former US President Donald Trump.
Because of this ban, since the 1980s, Cuba has started developing its medicines, and eight of the 13 vaccines are used by the country in the homemade vaccination campaign.
The Cuban government has set a goal of vaccinating 70% of the country’s population of 11.2 million by August, with everyone vaccinated before the end of the year.
