CUBA, the first Latin American country to develop its own Covid-19 vaccines, is presently short of syringes for immunising its population against the virus. It’s not feasible for Cuba to make its own syringes, and the US blockade prevents Cuba from importing them from abroad.
Most countries are experiencing a shortage of syringes. The New York Times estimates an overall need of between “eight billion and 10 billion syringes for Covid-19 vaccinations alone.” Manufacturing capabilities are increasing, but because of the blockade, are of no use to Cuba.
According to Global Health Partners, “Cuba needs roughly 30 million syringes for their mass Covid vaccination campaign and they’re 20 million short.” Solidarity organisations are seeking donated funds to buy syringes and ship them to Cuba.
Silvia from Miami, Eduardo from Hialeah, Abel from Lakeland. The names pour in on the donations page for "Syringes to Cuba" as Carlos Lazo - Medea Benjamin for Antiwar.com Original
Cuba, the first Latin American country to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines, is presently short of syringes for immunizing its population against the virus. It’s not feasible for Cuba to make its own syringes, and the U.S. blockade prevents Cuba from importing them from abroad.
by Medea Benjamin / June 1st, 2021
Waiting in line for food in Cuba. Photo credit: UPI.com
Silvia from Miami, Eduardo from Hialeah, Abel from Lakeland. The names pour in on the donations page for “Syringes to Cuba” as Carlos Lazo promotes the campaign on his popular Facebook livestream. An energetic Cuban-American high school teacher in Seattle, Lazo created a group called Puentes de Amor, Bridges of Love, to unite Cuban Americans who want to lift the searing U.S. blockade that is immiserating their loved ones on the island.
Puentes de Amor is the latest addition to the Syringes to Cuba initiative, which was started by the Saving Lives Campaign and the humanitarian organization Global Health Partners to help Cuba vaccinate its people against COVID-19. With the help of two other groups, The People’s Forum and CODEPINK, the campaign has raised over $350,000 and has already placed an order for four million syringes. Two million will arrive in June and the balance in July.