Ten countries across the region will get a major boost to their COVID-19 vaccination programmes as a result of a US$500,000 donation from regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean. The donation to national vaccination programmes is being made by the bank through its charitable arm the FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation and will support the purchase of vaccines in Antigua, Bahamas, … [Read more...]
As Pandemic Eases Elsewhere, Some Caribbean States Face Worst Outbreaks Yet
KINGSTON (Reuters) - In Jamaica, which won praise for containing its coronavirus outbreak last year, patients now overflow into corridors on chairs and stretchers in some hospitals, prompting the Caribbean nation to open three emergency field hospitals. While global new infections start to decline, a handful of countries across the Caribbean, including the larger islands of Jamaica and Cuba, … [Read more...]
The COVID-19 exit strategy—why we need to aim low
As we find ourselves in the second year of a global pandemic, the question on everyone's mind is: when will this end? Much of the narrative around the pandemic last year was that all hopes for a return to normal hinged on development of an effective vaccine. This rhetoric was deaf to the concerns of vaccine and public health experts, and for many a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has become the magic bullet to … [Read more...]
Cuban Scientists Working Towards COVID-19 Vaccination
[Reprinted: CNW, 8-13-2020] HAVANA, Cuba – Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel says that local scientists at the BioCubaFarma Research Center are working towards developing a vaccine against COVID-19. On Twitter, the Cuban president wrote that some researchers and scientists are progressing in the search for a vaccine to halt the spread of the virus. “… I’m pretty sure they will … [Read more...]
UK Accelerating Access to COVID-19 Vaccines in the Caribbean
[Reprinted: CNW, 8-6-2020] BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The United Kingdom has come to the aid of countries in the region by providing access to vaccinations for COVID-19. The Foreign Secretaries of the UK and Mexico, Dominic Raab and Marcelo Ebrard, have stated that ensuring equitable access to vaccines, treatments and tests to all in the Caribbean and Latin America through international and … [Read more...]