Covid-19: Cuba speeds up vaccination despite lack of syringes
Vaccination center in Havana, May 12, 2021. REUTERS - ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The communist Caribbean country is the only one to have developed its own vaccines against Covid-19, which are still in the testing phase, but the epidemiological situation is pushing to accelerate immunization.
The population of Havana is now being vaccinated on a large scale, as are health workers across the country, as much as possible, as the country lacks syringes to inject its vaccine.
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With our correspondent in Havana,
Domitille Piron
Immunizing quickly is the goal that Cuba has set itself with its candidate vaccines against Covid-19.
Still not approved as such, the
100% Cuban
Abdala vaccine
is now injected into the population of Havana depending on the incidence of the coronavirus in the various districts of the capital.
We had to wait for the donation of 380,000 syringes from Argentina to be able to start vaccinating the Havanese population on a large scale.
In the provinces also, we want to accelerate vaccination despite the difficulties, as explained by Dr. Julio, at the central hospital of Cienfuegos.
“
It was the organizations of friendship with Cuba that made it possible to obtain syringes and sent them to us to be able to vaccinate the population.
But really it takes a lot of effort.
"
The impact of the blockade
The effectiveness of the vaccine is not yet proven, but everyone wants to receive their dose and the Cuban health system organized by neighborhood makes it possible to quickly organize this massive vaccination, but we have to juggle the supply problems of the material, due to the American embargo according to the Cubans, like Alejandro Morejon.
“
Everyone knows our economic situation, and so does the situation with the blockade, which makes it very difficult to maintain our health system.
Yes, there are gaps but we always manage to solve everything as quickly as possible
.
"
A very Cuban optimism, which these Abdala and Soberana vaccines come to reinforce while the epidemiological and economic situation does not improve.
► Also to listen: Major report: Cuba despite the crisis, young people taking the initiative
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Cuba
Vaccines
Coronavirus