Cuba says it has exported its three-shot Abdala coronavirus vaccine for the first time, sending an initial shipment to Vietnam as part of a contract to supply five million doses to the Southeast Asian country.

Cuban scientists have developed three home-grown vaccines against Covid-19, all of which are waiting to receive official recognition from the World Health Organisation.

State-run pharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma made the export announcement on Twitter after saying earlier this week it had produced enough doses to meet a target to immunise more than 90 per cent of the local population by mid-November.

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