Cuba's health care system puts America's to shame
The U.S. media was jubilant today with the news of a second Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, tiny isolated Cuba had two Covid-19 vaccines in clinical trials two weeks ago, and a third vaccine started trials this past week.
However, Cuba has a critical problem with their Covid-19 trials that the U.S. does not have.
Cuba’s ambitions may be challenged when researchers are ready to launch late-stage trials. Vaccines are more easily tested in places with rampant virus spread, but Cuba’s transmission rate is very low, with just about 500 confirmed active cases.
To put it another way, Cuba's problem is that they don't have enough sick people. America has the opposite problem, too many sick people.
As far as I know, Cuba is the only nation that has engaged in large scale medical missions in 2020.
Nearly 40 countries across five continents have received Cuban medics during the pandemic. Some countries have received the medics for free, others are paying for the doctors.
Cuba has one of the highest ratios of physicians per capita in the world and even before pandemic struck, had some 28,000 medics deployed globally. It has since dispatched a further 4,000.“They are lifesavers,” said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and chairman of the Caribbean bloc CARICOM. “In some Caribbean countries, they constitute the backbone of the response to the pandemic.”
...
Cuba has reported just 4,684 cases and 108 deaths so far: a tenth of the global average per capita.Many of the doctors on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus in the global South are also graduates of Cuba’s international medicine school in Havana, which has trained an estimated 30,000 foreigners.
400,000 Cuban medics and technicians have served overseas since the 60's.
Speaking of this medicine school in Havana.
In the 1980s, the government of Cuba closed down the naval academy in Havana and transformed it into a medical academy to train doctors from across the hemisphere at no cost to the students.
Ack! The horrors of socialized medicine. Actually training foreign doctors FOR FREE!
But where's the profit?
Following Hurricane Katrina, Fidel Castro offered to send more than 1,600 specialists in emergency medicine to New Orleans, but this offer was declined by the administration of George W. Bush.
Americans would rather suffer and die by the thousands than receive free medical help from communists, amirite! Our government, completely owned by Big Pharma and Big Insurance, will make sure that poor Americans patriotically suffer so that wealthy shareholders get big quarterly dividends, just like Jesus said they should.
Other Latin American nations should suffer too.
Cuba’s medical missions have also come under attack from the United States, which has attempted to assert that Cuba is “trafficking doctors.” These attacks have intensified during the pandemic.
Other Latin American countries, including Panama, Bolivia, and Brazil, have bowed to U.S. pressure to annul contracts with Cuban medics and expel the missions.
Hmmm. Bolivia and Brazil. Two nations hit hard by Covid-19, also sent home their doctors.
Coincidence?
Comments
Cuba is what we should be...
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/11/16/cubas-heroic-covid-resp...
Imagine if we were responding to COVID in a way that focused on people not profit. It might look like Cuba. GASP!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Cuba develops vaccines?
I'm impressed!
And to the post, why isn't the Sputnik vaccine in clinical trial in the USA/ Didn't the Cold War end?
I remember some silly politicians dancing around "We're number one!" instead of being relieved and welcoming Russia into the family of free nations as full partners. like we did we de-nazified Germany?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Cuban vaccines
from the link above
It's amazing what Cuba has accomplished.
Yes, I agree!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
When you get a chance
Do a google search "cuban doctors nobel prize".
Cuba turned Covid-19 into the biggest PR coup in their nation's history.
Meanwhile, Trump decided to play a Bond villain against Cuba.
Seen today on Twitter, a little Parenti...
@peachcreek Parenti, always &
Parenti, always & forever.
Cuba is awesome. Closing down a naval academy
& converting it into a medical academy - whattay concept!
How Cuba’s antiviral medicine is helping China.
https://www.workers.org/2020/03/46641/
The drug has been in Cuba for 39 years !
Sensible
Why does Cuba need a Navy? Yes, it's an island, but the reality is that the Cuban navy could not operate without the consent of the US Navy.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Is it just me or.....? Been seeing little more
positive pieces on Cuba lately in the bourgeois press. Of course, there will be more "balance" stories.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cuba-idUSKBN22Y2Y4
Trump could have done some good here
Instead of dealing with obviously crazy "Rocket man" over the opposition of South Korea and Japan, he could have re-established trade with Cuba over the objections of his Party. Before Covid, Havana could have become a tourist spot again and trade could have commenced for mutual benefit. Former (R) Governor Ryan tried this proposing a goods exchange of Cuban sugar for the Illinois candy industry (Yes we had a candy industry then, before the government instated on using Montana beet sugar, now candy is all imported) in exchange for Illinois Corn for which we had a surplus and hungry Cubans could have eaten. International trade at it's best. You can't grow sugar cane in Illinois. You can't grow corn (at least economically) in Cuba. In fact, maybe Cuba is too hot and wet for corn. IIRC, sugar cane likes hot and wet. It would be like trading corn for Norwegian cod.
If Trump was a real expert at business deals instead of a legend in his own mind, some kind of token payment for seized property (yes, I know it was mostly mob property) could have been counterbalanced by trade credits and bigger payments for Guantanamo. He and Pritzker (must be bi-partisan in the graft) could have gotten in on the ground floor of Havana Hotel development. Nobody but die-hard birchers care about Batista who was the worst kind of right wing dictator anyway. Insult to hubris of the USA? That's on Democrats, Republicans should be glad to spout off about (D) feuds hampering business. It's been like sixty tears. The USA traded with Nazi Germany up until the invasion of Poland. But the Nazis hadn't taken business property and prominent political families like the Bush family were benefiting from trading with the Nazis.
Now, I suppose the legal drug cartels don't want competition from Cuba.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
You misunderstand the situation
Trump had talks with North Korea because of South Korea, not in spite of South Korea. South Korea had a peaceful revolution called the Candlelight Revolution, in which they ousted the president and threw her in jail, in order to install a peace advocate.
Trump actually undermined the peace talks with North Korea. But you are never going to hear that on American media
Never going to hear anything factual on American media
I keep reading about how "liberal" and even "socialist" Biden is.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
What is socialism?
As far as I can tell Socialism is anything to the left of hunting the homeless for sport
Good one, I'm laughing but it's gallows humor
as I realize that that scenario is, indeed, possible.
It really burns me to hear these banker stooges described as "Socialist". I expect SS to be radically cut in the next four years to cover Wall Street bailouts and Nancy Friggin Pelosi's "paygo". trillions for wall Street but SS and USPS have to show a profit. One reason I believe this is that Wall Street needs more and more feed and I read more articles calling for mandatory 401K participation. The push will be on to replace SS with Universal mandatory 401K's without employer participation. Instead of paying their share of SS, they will receive fees for "processing".
And that prophetic article on Joe Biden's Medicare For all with increased private sector input. Espeially if SCOTUS kills Obamacare, look for Bidencare, Medicare Part C for All. An end to traditional Medicare and the total privatization of Healthcare.
The Lesser Evil lost. Bungling dummy trump was not as dangerous as wall street stooge Biden as his jailer assistant.
Edited 301K to 401K. it was a typo but I wish I could claim it as snark.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Socialism is when a country is run for the good of her people
Cuba is an amazing country. Imagine building a Socialist country 90 miles from the shores of the Beast? Then the Beast does everything it can to put your people in economic hardship and it still succeeds, and in many areas thrives - in medicine and culture. From 2008 to 2018 Cuba's GDP per capita grew by 63%. Many countries have normal relationships with Cuba including trade and travel.
The US can't tolerate any non capitalist country even existing and has done everything possible to make sure that these countries fail. Ironically, the US points to competition under capitalism as one of its assets, yet totally rejects the idea of competition between systems of government and economics. Is Socialism better than capitalism? I would say absolutely, if you define "better" as better outcomes for all of the people. The direct purpose of capitalism is to make fabulously wealthy people wealthier and more powerful. Somehow that's good for all of us? Freedom under capitalism can't exist. You can't have freedom without a right to health care, education, a job, housing and food. We get those in the US only through a master-slave relationship with the oligarchs. Democracy under capitalism can't exist as only the oligarchs have enough wealth to control politics and the election process. When we support someone like Bernie we find out that truth. The problem is tough and the only solution is to be tougher, if there is one at all.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
My question was rhetorical
And sarcastic. I was referring to how socialism is used in the media.
For example Venezuela. You would never know that 70% of the economy of Venezuela was in the private sector. Not exactly the Soviet Union
Wow I didn't know that. They keep doing that we may just have to invade, as they are a threat to our "freedom"
OT
Che Guevara was a doctor
from Argentina. Is this the seed of Cuban medical internationalism?
Much of his revolutionary enthusiasm was informed by the suffering of the poor and sick.