Cuba's Covid-19 vaccine makes headlines in French newspaper

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2 February 2021

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Paris, Feb 2 (Prensa Latina) The French newspaper L'Humanité on Tuesday published a front-page article, entitled 'The Cuban vaccine, hope for southern countries', in which it described the positive development of Cuba's Covid-19 vaccines.

Journalist Rosa Moussaoui explained to French readers the breakthroughs of Cuban biomedicine, which is working on four vaccine candidates, and included statements by researcher Vicente Verez, director of the Finlay Institute, who noted that 'if everything goes well, this year the entire Cuban population will be vaccinated.'

The text also highlighted the tremendous importance that these vaccines will have for southern countries, since Cuba announced the production of 100 million doses in 2021, because they will benefit the poorest populations that have been excluded from vaccination programs against Covid-19 so far, due to the monopolization policy by the richest countries.

L'Humanité included an interview with the vice rector of the Raul Roa Garcia Higher Institute of International Relations of Havana, Leyde E. Rodriguez, who referred to the 'the medical internacionalism' championed by Cuba as opposed to the capitalist logic of profit, which, regarding the vaccines, 'is a human rights violation,' he said.

Rodriguez recalled that 'Cuba has always been open to international solidarity and cooperation in the fields of science, medicine and pharmaceutics,' something that has been proven with facts; it has also been willing to 'pass on its experiences and knowledge on the new breakthroughs in this area for the benefit of its people and humankind,' he added.

'This is the reason why political leaders, members of Parliament, scientists and scholars across the world have petitioned that the (next) Nobel Peace Prize be granted to Cuba's Henry Reeve Medical Contingent,' which deployed 50,000 doctors in 38 countries last year, he explained.

This kind of story are not usual in the French press, whose interest in Cuba's situation focuses on out-of-context criticisms or problems resulting from the serious economic crisis, hiding the devastating effects caused by the United States blockade imposed on the Caribbean island. jg/aph/mem/acm