Cuba's vaccine candidates (April 2, 2021)

 Last week, Cuba started vaccinating 150,000 health care workers with its Soberana 2 vaccine that is still in the third phase of clinical trials. And, yesterday, the island nation started giving its Abdala vaccine to 124,000 health care workers—Abdala is likewise still in phase 3 of vaccine trials, reports AFP. 

Cuba has four vaccines currently at various stages of clinical trials, including two in the final phase three: Soberana 2 and Abdala. On the basis of as-yet-unpublished results from early-stage clinical trials, Vicente Verez-Bencomo, director-general of the Finlay Institute, expects the Soberana 2 to show an efficacy in the region of 80–95%, reports The Lancet.

Success would have significant repercussions for Cuba, which has paid a significant economic cost for pandemic shutdowns, and for the region. There have been reports that vaccine tourism could be encouraged, in order to give the country an economic boost. (NPR) And Cuban officials have said the country will export its Covid-19 vaccines at cost price plus a small margin to support its free universal healthcare system. Patents may be licensed abroad for production and vaccines donated to the poorest countries. (See March 5's post.) Cuba's national identity and diplomatic efforts have long been focused on health, and the Henry Reeve Brigade has dispatched cadres of health-care professionals all over the world. If the new vaccines are successful, they could be an opportunity for poorer countries left out of the international vaccine scrum, reports the Washington Post. Cuba's vaccines don't require ultra-cold storage, and are able to last at room temperature for weeks, potentially making them a viable option for low-income, tropical countries

Cuba's long-standing commitment to health has led to a successful COVID-19 pandemic response, but it is threatened by financial and supplier issues, according to The Lancet. (See the Conversation for more on Cuba's strategies against Covid-19.) Cuba's biotechnology industry sprang up in response to the U.S. embargo, but obtaining raw materials is a constant struggle, especially in the aftermath of the hardening of the American sanctions during Donald Trump's presidency.

Regional Integration

• The Persaud Commission proposed to put Caricom on a dual-track system -- permitting countries that wish to form part of a single market and economy (CSME) to advance in that direction, while permitting others to join at a later date, as a way around its implementation paralysis. “Enhanced cooperation is mostly ‘second best’, not as good as everyone starting off together at the beginning, but it is better than not starting at all,” the commissioners say in their report. (Jamaica Gleaner and Jamaica Gleaner)

• The debate comes in the midst of a diplomatic schism within Caricom, over a December OAS vote condemning Trinidad and Tobago's approach to Venezuelan migrants, which was supported by the Bahamas, Jamaica and Haiti. Underlying the division is an issue of dependency, according to Sir Ronald Sanders, with some countries relying on Caracas for oil while others look to the US and Canada for aid, markets, and help with borrowing. "When CARICOM countries recognize that they could be less dependent on external forces and less obliged if they pool their resources and their sovereignty, they will be more independent in their decisions and action."  (Kaieteur News, Jamaica Gleaner)

Covid-19 Impact

• Desperate to create safe conditions for tourism, many countries in the Caribbean are turning to India and China for vaccines at a time when global supplies are strained and richer nations are ahead of them in line for shots from other sources, reports the Associated Press.

• Vaccination is advancing slowly in the Caribbean, due to difficulties procuring jabs, even as caseloads increase and countries seek to reactivate their economies, reports EFE.

• As the Caribbean rolls out COVID-19 vaccines, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is running a survey to obtain views on the COVID19 vaccines of people living in the region and to determine their willingness to be vaccinated.

• The Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) announced the launch of its COVID Hub series of country reports on transparent and accountable expenditure of externally financed pandemic support measures in 14 Caribbean states. The countries being covered are Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

•  As part of the CoronavirusFacts project implemented by UNESCO, more than a hundred journalists in Haiti have learned to use the tools of new information technologies (NICT), to analyze data, to produce maps, to master social networks, but also to verify the facts under the principles of ethics and professional conduct of the journalistic profession.

• The Canadian Government has announced it will inject CAN$1.2 million to support the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) in its response against COVID-19 in six Caribbean countries: the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. (Guyana Times)

• A Saint Lucia attorney has called for an agency to monitor abuses by law enforcement officers, as they enforce Covid-19 laws. (St. Lucia Times)

• Cayman Islands-based journalist Daphne Ewing-Chow, who wrote an article examining  the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of teenagers, won the PAHO/CDB/CBU Award “Celebrating Responsible Coverage of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support During COVID-19”.

Climate Justice and Energy

• Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness are the only two Caribbean leaders invited to the U.S.-organized Summit Meeting on Climate. U.S. President Joe Biden said invitations were extended to leaders of major economies and "heads of other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership and are especially vulnerable to climate impacts." (Caribbean News Service)

• Fiji in partnership with WHO launched its national Guidelines for Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities.

• The reopening of the massive Limetree Bay oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands is a prime example of what environmentalists see as the former U.S. Trump administration’s unfettered and irresponsible deregulatory agenda, reports Inside Climate News.

• Three cruise companies' plans to make Nassau their home port could be environmentally disastrous for the Bahamas, despite business hopes for economic benefits, reports Eyewitness News.

• Women farmers in the Maroon nation of Accompong in Jamaica thrive on their tightly knit community's communal land ownership system, but the lack of water infrastructure and absence of running water is an ever-looming threat that impacts yields and income earning potential, reports Forbes.

• The regional non-governmental organization BirdsCaribbean is at the forefront of ongoing efforts to protect the region's birds. It has now launched a new bird monitoring initiative — the Caribbean Motus Collaboration -- using a system of nanotags and receiver stations to monitor bird movements, reports Petchary's Blog.

Racial Justice

• Alejandro de la Fuente and Stanley R. Bailey delve into contrasting perspectives on racism and racial inequality in contemporary Cuba: "Our analyses of census data suggest that racial stratification has a limited impact on areas such as education, health care, occupation, and positions of leadership. We find, nonetheless, that an expanding and strikingly racialized private sector is fueling dramatic income inequality by skin color beyond the reach of official census data." -- Du Bois Review

Democratic Governance

• The Self-Determination Act before the U.S. Congress could finally end colonization of Puerto Rico, argues Natalia Renta in Jacobin Magazine.

• Historical voting data in Puerto Rico shows the country's electorate is changing the way it votes. Years of corruption scandals, financial mismanagement, inadequate response to natural events, and the ousting of Ricardo Roselló have caused many to evaluate candidates individually. An analysis of the election results by 9 Millones shows that the vote by candidacy in the Legislative ballot increased by 3.77% from 2016. At the same time, the straight-party voting decreased by 4.48%. 

• The Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) won all five seats on the Barbuda Council, displacing the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party. (St. Kitts and Nevis Observer)

• The Guyana Press Association (GPA) has again condemned reports of attacks – physical, virtual and otherwise – on members of the media and outlets, after journalist Gordon Moseley and NewsSource were excluded from a scheduled press conference. (Jamaica Gleaner)

LGBTQI Rights

• Six known trans murders occurred in Puerto Rico in 2020 — five trans women and one trans man—the majority of whom were Black, Indigenous, and poor, experiencing housing instability and supporting themselves through sex work. Activists have called for trans people to be explicitly included in the governor's recent declaration of a state of emergency over gender-based violence. (Autostraddle)
  

Human Trafficking

• Barbados' cabinet approved a national action plan on human trafficking. (Caribbean News Service)

Public Security

•  A string of police-involved shootings and reports of police using excessive force in the Bahamas has undermined trust in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, reports Eyewitness News.

Workers Rights

• Grenada teachers marched to demand a 4 percent increase in salary granted by the 2018 collective bargaining agreement. (Now Grenada)

Drug Policy

• Proposed legislation to decriminalize marijuana in Grenada is presently before the country's cabinet for discussion and will be presented for public consultation next. (Now Grenada)

Culture

• In sculptures made of sugar, salt, and glass, Sula Bermúdez-Silverman explores the colonial undertones of monster movie imagery -- Hyperallergic

Events

4 April

• David Commissiong, Barbados’ ambassador to CARICOM, on reparations, and current issues affecting the University of the West Indies (UWI) -- Caribbean Solidarity Labour

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