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Since last year, only about 440 Cubans have died from COVID-19, giving the island one of the lowest death rates per capita in the world. death toll from COVID-19 tops 560,000 and Brazil records over 4,200 deaths in a single day, we begin today’s show looking at how Cuba has successfully fought the pandemic.
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“Cuba is going through an unbelievable economic crisis, and the sanctions have been absolutely devastating,” says Lindsay.ĪMY GOODMAN: As the U.S. sanctions on Cuba continue to cripple the country. We also speak with Reed Lindsay, journalist and founder of the independent, Cuba-focused media organization Belly of the Beast, who says U.S. “We have long experience with these kinds of technologies,” he says. Rolando Pérez Rodríguez, the director of science and innovation at BioCubaFarma, which oversees Cuba’s medicine development. That investment, coupled with the country’s free, universal healthcare system, has helped Cuba keep the virus under control and quickly develop vaccines against it, says Dr. embargo that has made it harder for Cuba to import equipment and raw materials from other countries.
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Cuba has heavily invested in its medical and pharmaceutical system for decades, in part because of the six-decade U.S. Cuba is also developing five COVID-19 vaccines, including two which have entered stage 3 trials. Since last year, approximately 440 Cubans have died from COVID-19, giving Cuba one of the lowest death rates per capita in the world.