Cuba, which to date had deployed exclusively its homegrown Covid-19 vaccines, will start also using the Sinopharm vaccine of its ally China in its bid to battle one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world.

Health authorities will administer two doses of Sinopharm combined with a Cuban booster in the central province of Cienfuegos from today, Vicente Verez, the head of the Cuban Finlay Vaccine Institute, was cited as saying by the provincial state-run outlet 5deSeptiembre.

The efficacy of the vaccine combo is above 90 per cent, according to the outlet, without detailing where the data came from or whether Cuba's drug regulator had authorised the use of the Chinese vaccine.