HAVANA (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have begun receiving new, locally produced vaccines against COVID-19 in the past few days as the socialist government ramps up an inoculation campaign. That’s happening even before it has released formal Phase III data on the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety. The campaign is being closely watched by many across Latin America and the world who see Cuba’s vaccines as a possible way to ease global shortages. The island’s health minister announced on May 7 that officials are still processing information from the unusually large Phase III trials of the two vaccine candidates, which covered 400,000 people overall.
