Cuba is going through worst moment of pandemic: spike in infections and alarming shortage of drugs and basic commodities

#SOSCuba y #SOSMatanzas was transformed into tendencia en las redes sociales esta semana por la inocultable crisis que atraviesa Cuba, aún cuando el regimen de Miguel Díaz-Canel hago todo lo posible para que el grito de auxilio de los cubanos no se escuche fuera de the island.

The trend started this week, when The province of Matanzas (east of Havana) was on the verge of health collapse due to the uncontrolled increase in covid-19 cases, with more than 1,300 per 100,000 inhabitants, a situation made worse by the shortage of medicines , food and hygiene products..

Some people spontaneously coordinated the #SOSMatanzas campaign via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp to collect money, medical equipment, food and other supplies and send them to the affected places. The initiative was later joined by civil society organizations, government and citizens from Cuba, Spain, England, Ecuador, the United States and other countries who organized themselves in solidarity and They demand a humanitarian corridor in the face of the health emergency.

In addition, for donations within the island, the organizers have set up several collection points, such as the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, the Clandestina store, the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue or the Faculty of Economics of the University of Havana. And yesterday, Argentine-Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner and Puerto Rican reggaeton players Ozuna and Rauw Alejandro finished giving visibility to the collapse that Cuba is going through..

Cuba is living a paradox: is the country leading the race for covid-19 vaccines in Latin America, but health professionals denounce the negligence of the system and the precarious conditions of the health system. “The situation is only getting worse with the days”, he says Infobae neurosurgeon Alexandre pupo, one of the most prominent critics of the island’s healthcare system. “In Cuba, the covid really affects with other epidemics, like scabies, and famine, which is criminal”, he pretends.

“It’s total chaos. Here everything collapsed, the health system of the whole country is in full collapse “adds the doctor Manuel Guerra, an obstetrician at the Buenaventura Polyclinic in Holguín, also well known for his frequent complaints on social networks.

Pic of cases

Cuba, one of the countries that managed to bypass the first phase of the pandemic, now under attack from the second wave. The country, of around 11 million inhabitants, has recorded This Saturday for the third consecutive day the highest number of cases of covid-19 and deaths confirmed in one day with 6,750 contaminations and 31 deaths, reported the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap).

Castro regime insists lack of needed covid-19 drugs, supplies and equipment due to tougher US sanctions, however, The professionals consulted attribute the resurgence of cases to the overcrowding which occurs in the isolation centers, in queues that are longer and longer than the population. made to get the commodities and in the hasty reopening of the island to foreign tourism.

Cuba, moreover, is mired in its biggest economic crisis in more than two decades, with a strong balance of payments deficit and unable to meet its external debt. In 2020, GDP fell 11%, its worst drop since 1993. Faced with this scenario, the most urgent problem is the shortage of medicines. Professionals consulted by Infobae they denounce it the lack of remedies and supplies is unprecedented, being even worse than that experienced during the serious crisis that the country experienced after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“They boast that Cuba is a ‘medical powerhouse’, that it is not real at all”Guerra said.

According to Pupo, the crisis began long before the pandemic, although the covid “made it all worse”. “People are desperate”, he pretends. “There aren’t even pain relievers to relieve headaches.”.

The regime also attributes the shortages to the US embargo in place since 1962., aggravated by the 243 measures put in place by Donald Trump’s government. However, The experts consulted assure that the health problems are due to the fact that the government of Migual Díaz-Canel has decided to prioritize investments in the repressive apparatus of the State.

“What it allocates to the repressive force is more than it allocates to nationally produced drugs.You don’t need anything imported either, there are basic drugs that have been produced in the local pharmaceutical industry and nothing is intended for that, ”Guerra explains.

Cuba ranks as 619 basic drugs, of which 359 are produced in BioCubaFarm, the national biotechnology company.

“There are ten patrols for each ambulance, so it’s a bit difficult to explain the drug patrols”, Pupo continues.

For its part, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO / WHO) cited the pandemic as the main cause of the drug shortage problem in Cuba. “Most of the raw materials, spare parts and other components needed for the production of medicines come from the Asian region., strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has resulted in delays in the arrival of these goods, both due to the problems of reduced production in these countries, as well as the interruption of air and sea transport, ”the organization told the agency. . EFE.

Cuba Last Friday authorized the emergency use of its anticovid vaccine Abdala, the first in Latin America, 92.28% effective against the risk of contracting covid-19 with symptoms. However, on the island, this achievement also raises suspicion.

War and Pupo they question the fact that the regime has invested so much in the expensive process of vaccine development when so many basic supplies are lacking. “How do you explain that we have vaccines and that there are not even essential drugs to treat a skin infection?” Asks Guerra.

Although they highlight the level of professionals at the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology who develop vaccines, doctors are wary that the true effectiveness of Cuban candidates is that communicated by the authorities, due to the lack of independence. of the regulatory entity. and government propaganda interests. “They gave the results a day before the UN vote on the embargo,” Guerra explains. “They are looking for a political impact, here everything is politicized,” he adds.

Meanwhile, on the island, the contagion progresses and the health system collapses.

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