Cuba Vaccine "Success" Amidst Threat of Starvation
Cuba Vaccine "Success" Amidst Threat of Starvation
Covid-Hysteria Causes Loss of All Rationality and Perspective
CNBC has an article out praising Cuba’s vaccine response. It is a prime example of tunnel vision and a complete lack of perspective in a world consumed by Covid hysteria. The headline states, “Why Cuba’s extraordinary Covid vaccine success could provide the best hope for low-income countries.”
The author’s measure of “success” is based on the fact that “Cuba has vaccinated a greater percentage of its population against Covid-19 than almost all of the world’s largest and richest nations. … by producing its own Covid vaccine …”
There is no talk about the effectiveness of the vaccine, no talk talk about the costs or trade-offs of developing this vaccine, none of that. “Success” is apparently all about how many people the government stuck with a needle. The Cuban government hasn’t even published results of its clinical trials in peer-reviewed journals but they claim over 90% efficacy. Where have I heard that before?
The Guardian has a similar article praising the same. The headline reads, “Cuba’s vaccine success story sails past mark set by rich world’s Covid efforts.”
Meanwhile, people in Cuba are standing in lines for hours just to be able to eat. The sub-headline of The Guardian article is comical, in a dark-humor kind of way. It states, “The island struggles to keep the lights on but has inoculated 90% of population with home-developed vaccines.”
Wow … a complete loss of rationality and perspective.
“I spent almost all night here just to buy something. It is not easy, it is a big sacrifice just to be able to eat. It was worth it, because I found everything. Now some rest, and then back to the queue again.”
All she bought was two liters of oil, two packets of chicken, some minced meat and detergent.
Police keep order in the lines that stretch down several street blocks. You can imagine the frustration and the potential for those poor people waiting to “fly off the handle.” Daily announcements of what products will be available give hope to those that hold a place in line, but that hope is many times false. Many come home empty handed because the goods vanish by the time their turn comes around. 77 year-old Lazaro Naranjo says he spent two hours in line to buy chicken, but was unsuccessful.
“It reduces you to nothing,” he said.
To add insult to injury, many stores accept only foreign currency, but the government has outlawed use of US dollars. The Cuban peso is essentially worthless. The government has destroyed the purchasing power and the country is facing hyperinflation. The saving grace for some is that the black market (the free market) provides while the legal market is nothing but empty shelves.
This brings me back to the CNBC and Guardian articles praising Cuba’s vaccine program. Many in this world, including the authors of those articles, have completely lost all rationality and perspective as they are caught up in the Covid hysteria. Who cares about a vaccine when you are starving? Especially when you consider the sudden realization (admission?) that the effectiveness of the vaccines worldwide are not what the “experts” have sold to the people.
Much of the world is living free while other parts have entered dystopia. And everywhere seems to experience the same waves of the virus regardless of the extent of draconian measures implemented. So naturally, the goal posts keep shifting. Even the CEO of Pfizer recently came out and said the first two doses “offer very limited protection, if any.” You just need more, you see.
There may be a slight silver lining in all the madness. The Cuban government has slowly started opening the economy to private enterprise to help deal with shortages and lines. Although red tape is everywhere, it’s a step in the right direction.
How much free enterprise will be allowed in Cuba? We shall see. The fact that I have to ask that question is tragic.