Overwhelmed by Coronavirus, Cuba’s Vaunted Health System Is Reeling
Cuba’s alleged world class health system is Overwhelmed by a Massive Covid Outbreak.
Cuba’s health care system, long a source of national pride, is in acute distress, particularly in distant provinces. Mortuaries and crematories have been overwhelmed. The city of Guantánamo, for example, is coping with a surge of deaths that on some days climbs to about eight times the usual number, a government official said. Cubans are posting heart-wrenching videos of dead relatives, saying their loved ones died for lack of medical care.
Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, acknowledged recently that the pandemic “exceeded the capacity” of the Cuban health care system, but he blamed the U.S. trade embargo for the shortages the country suffers.
“Patients are admitted as pure protocol, because the availability of medicines to treat them really doesn’t exist in the hospitals,” said Dr. Pupo, who has volunteered to help fight Covid-19. “I mean, they go in to die, practically.” And when they do, he said, it might take three days for someone to come pick up the body.
The number of new daily cases increased exponentially for nine straight weeks this summer, and more than 100,000 people are currently in Covid-19 isolation centers for monitoring, according to an Aug. 9 report by the Pan American Health Organization, about half of whom have tested positive.
Fired for Admitting What’s Happening
- “The health care system in Cuba has collapsed.”
- “The funeral homes can’t cope, the hospitals can’t cope, the clinics can’t cope.”
- “We have been struggling for a year and a half in this battle against this disease — without weapons — when hundreds and thousands of people are dying.”
Cuban doctor Alexander J. Figueredo Izaguirre was fired for making those statements.
Cuba Vaccination Rates
Just 26.8% of Cubans are fully vaccinated. And that is using the Abdala vaccine that was developed in Cuba.
Death Rate Comparison
- The population of Cuba is 11,318,842. Cuba is averaging 78 deaths per day.
- The current US 7-day average is 686 out of a population of 333,188,423.
- Cuba is averaging 6.9 deaths per million.
- The US is averaging 2.1 deaths per million.
The above calculations assumes the counts from Cuba are close to being correct. I suggest there are huge undercounts.
US Embargo and Sanctions
On July 31, Reuters reported U.S. issues new Cuba sanctions, Biden promises more to come.
“The United States is taking concerted action to bolster the cause of the Cuban people,” said Biden.
By letting them die?
Not to worry, we are giving them free WiFi access.
“Biden has been working on a plan to try to provide wireless communications to Cubans and augment U.S. embassy staff in Cuba,” a senior administration official said.
The US Has 63 Consecutive Years of Sanction Failure Against Cuba!
US sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela have been a total failure.
On July 12, I commented The US Has 63 Consecutive Years of Sanction Failure Against Cuba!
The US, via sanction policy has been attempting to take down the Cuban government continually since 1958.
That is a proven history of 63 consecutive years of sanction failure!
Incredible Opportunity
Fake Concerns
We have fake concern for Afghans but no real concern for those in Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran who are dying directly because of US sanctions.
This is despite the fact that US sanctions have a proven 100% failure rate.
Don’t get me started on Yemen, Iraq, Syria, or Libya.
No Lose Setup
From Biden’s perspective, giving medical supplies to Cube is a no lose proposition.
Even the most right-wing Cuban-American “embargo them to death” faction can’t complain about medical deliveries.
Unlike other supplies or cash, medical supplies are guaranteed get in to the hands of those who need them most.
We can pretend we are helping Cubans by letting them die, or we can lift the embargo and deliver needed medical supplies.
That is the choice President Biden. What are you going to do?
Addendum on Tariffs and Sanctions
A reader commented that the US is the only nation with an embargo on Cuba.
Accurate But
- US sanctions and embargoes give cover to Cuban officials who blame the US.
- No other nation is supplying Cuba’s medical needs
- Sanctions and embargoes have not worked and 63 years of history proves it
- I frequently blasted Trump over sanctions, embargoes, and tariffs. I do not play politics. Biden deserves equal criticism.
Mexico Expresses ‘Sincere Gratitude’ to U.S. for Vaccines
The Washington Post reports Mexico Expresses ‘Sincere Gratitude’ to U.S. for Vaccines.
“The U.S. government has just informed us that 1,750,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine offered by Vice President Harris to President López Obrador arrive at the weekend,” Ebrard wrote Wednesday on Twitter. “In a month the second dose will arrive (another 1,750,000). Our sincere gratitude!!!”
The Mexican government last week said that Vice President Harris had promised to send 3.5 million doses of Moderna and 5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to the country. Mexico has recorded a total of 250,469 deaths so far and has fully vaccinated just 23 percent of its population of 126 million, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
How is that supposed to make Cuban-Americans feel?
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In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-cuba-relationsthe Cuban Democracy Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/house-bill/5323 barred vessels that had traded with Cuba in the past 180 days from docking at U.S. ports and prevented foreign subsidiaries of American companies from doing business in Cuba. Four years later, President Bill Clinton signed the https://www.congress.gov/bill/104th-congress/house-bill/927, which imposed sanctions on foreign companies that traded with Cuba.
“I suggest there are huge undercounts.” On come on, Mish ……
We call the United States a “Christian nation.” Yet, we think we can starve a people who don’t politically walk side by side with the US government into submission. This has never seemed very Christian to me. Calling the United States a “Christian nation” is quite blasphemous. I can’t imagine Jesus approves of our policies.As a capitalist, Cuba would benefit from getting rid of the sanctions. I think normalizing relations with Cuba was one of the few good things Obama did, but of course the problem with the US politics these days is the red team hates everything the blue team does and vice versa, so we are back on this path which only enables Cuba to embrace their old ways. Give them a taste of McDonald’s cheeseburger and a Coca-Cola and you plant a seed (an obese seed, but a seed.) We don’t seem to understand that and yet we do as this is one of the reasons China is where it is today. Of course, it feels to me we wish we could take back China’s entry into a limited capitalistic society.