MEXICO CITY, December 23 (Prensa Latina) Professor Tanalís Padilla, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of numerous books including A History of Rural Normal Schools, today praises Cuban vaccines and global inequality.
The local newspaper La Jornada today inserts an article by the teacher, of Mexican descent, highlighting Cuba’s efforts in manufacturing its vaccines against Covid-19 and starting shipments of the biological vaccine to Mexico.
Padilla recalled that at the end of November the first shipment of the Cuban Abdala vaccine arrived in Mexico, one of the three – along with Soberana 2 and Soberana Plus – approved by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris).
At first glance, he stressed, it is surprising that Cuba, a poor country besieged by the US blockade for six decades and experiencing an acute economic crisis, should appear alongside major powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom and China , in the list of countries They have developed their own vaccine.
He confirmed that the island is notable for its high vaccination coverage, with about 86 percent of the population receiving the three doses, a level surpassed only by the United Arab Emirates at the time.
Cuba was also the first country to massively vaccinate children up to the age of 2, a process that has reduced the lethality of the pandemic on the island because, while Covid-19 doesn’t affect them as badly as older people, little ones do a source the transmission.
Recalling that since the 1980s the island has been developing medicines and vaccines both for its own population and for export and donation to other countries in the world, he highlighted the work of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Finlay -Institute emerged from vaccines.
He writes about the importance of the world’s first developed meningococcal meningitis (MenB) vaccine, used in Cuba since 1989; that against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), since 2003; and that of hepatitis B, since 1992, the first recombinant in the world authorized by the
Among the many injustices exposed by the pandemic is global inequality, which has allowed rich countries to purchase and give surplus vaccines to their populations while poor countries have been forced to wait, the researcher denounced.
As of February 2022, nearly two years after the pandemic was declared, only 9.5 percent of the population of poor countries had received a dose of the vaccine, and another major injustice is the fortune the pharmaceutical industry has acquired, on top of blocking attempts to release the formula so that they can be manufactured on a large scale.
One of Cuba’s reasons for producing its own vaccines is that it did not trust it could acquire them from the international community and commitment to theirs due to the economic, commercial and financial deadlock that deepened during the pandemic brought results, not just for its own people, but for those of other countries, which the United States also insists on punishing.
Cuba has sent its vaccines to Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua and Vietnam; Sovereign 2 is being produced in Iran. In addition, it has agreements with other countries to transfer its technology and provide the vaccines cheaply.
In extremely adverse conditions, Cuba never ceases to amaze the world: with its international medical brigades, with its innovations in medicine, with the high level of health of its population. His vaccines against Covid-19 are another reminder of what can be achieved by not acting on capitalist logic.
Cuban Vaccines and Global Inequality
Tanali’s Padilla*
the day
At the end of November, the first shipment of the Cuban vaccine against Covid-19 arrived in Mexico. Dubbed Abdala, this is one of three Cuban vaccines — along with Soberana 2 and Soberana Plus — approved by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris). The Cuban vaccines join the other nine — including Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (EU), AstraZeneca (England) and Sinovac (China) — also approved by this body for emergency use in Mexico.
At first glance, it may seem surprising that Cuba, a poor country besieged by the US blockade for six decades and experiencing an acute economic crisis, is on the list of countries, alongside major powers such as the United States, England and China managed to develop their own vaccine. Recent studies have not only highlighted the great effectiveness of Cuban vaccines – over 95 percent preventing serious cases and deaths from Covid-19 – Cuba also stands out for its high level of vaccination. At the start of this year, about 86 percent of the population had already received all three doses of his vaccine, a level surpassed only by the United Arab Emirates at the time. Cuba was also the first country to massively vaccinate children as young as two years old, a process that reduced the lethality of the pandemic on the island because although Covid-19 does not affect them as severely as older people, little ones are one source of transmission.
Cuba has been developing medicines and vaccines for its own population and for export and donation to other countries in the world since the 1980s. The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Finlay Vaccine Institute have a proven track record of developing safe and effective vaccines. These include the world’s first developed meningococcal meningitis (MenB) vaccine, which has been in use in Cuba since 1989; the vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), administered in Cuba since 2003; and the hepatitis B vaccine, used in Cuba since 1992. The latter was the first recombinant vaccine in the world to be approved by the World Health Organization.
The infrastructure, experience and advances in developing these vaccines formed the basis for the development of vaccines against Covid-19. Unlike the new messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology used by Pfizer and Moderna, which aims to teach cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response when the body is infected, Cuban vaccines are based on a more traditional method. They contain part of the protein that the coronavirus uses to bind to human cells, which when administered produces antibodies that block that binding. The Cuban method has three major advantages: it’s cheaper, it’s easier to reproduce, and the vaccines don’t require the ultra-freezing required for the mRNA vaccines. These properties make it easier to vaccinate the world’s population, especially in poor countries.
Among the many injustices exposed by the pandemic is global inequality, which has allowed rich countries to purchase and give surplus vaccines to their populations while poor countries have been forced to wait. As of February 2022, nearly two years after the pandemic was declared, only 9.5 percent of poor-country populations had received a dose of the vaccine. Another great injustice is the wealth of the pharmaceutical industry. Despite the immense public sector investment they were endowed with to develop their vaccines, the pharmaceutical companies, along with the US, UK and Canadian governments, blocked attempts to release the formula so that it could be manufactured on a mass scale. In November 2021, as these industries geared up for their annual convention, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna alone were generating $65,000 in profits every minute. Meanwhile, less than 1 percent of vaccines from the first and barely 0.2 percent of vaccines from the second have been shipped to poor countries.
One of the reasons Cuban scientists and officials cite for deciding to direct their entire capacity to producing their own vaccines is that they did not trust that they could acquire them from the international community. Her experiences with the US blockade, which also sanctions third parties who do business with Cuba, made her doubts more than justified. The Empire was not cut off by refusing to even slightly relax its inhumane sanctions at a time of unprecedented public health emergency.
Cuba’s gambling has yielded results not only for its own people but also for those of other countries whose people the United States also wants to punish. Cuba has sent its vaccines to Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua and Vietnam; Sovereign 2 is being produced in Iran. In addition, it has agreements with other countries to transfer its technology and provide the vaccines cheaply.
In extremely adverse conditions, Cuba never ceases to amaze the world: with its international medical brigades, with its innovations in medicine, with the high level of health of its population. Your Covid vaccines are another reminder of what can be achieved when you don’t operate on capitalist logic.
* Professor-researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Author of Unintended Lessons of Revolution, a history of rural colleges