Cuba vaunts 'technical sovereignty' in COVID battle
MARCH 31, 202110:52 PMUPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
By Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba’s homegrown vaccine candidates have made headlines worldwide. Less well-known is its production of medical gear such as ventilators and CT scanners for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in a bid to achieve “technological sovereignty” during the pandemic.
During a tour of production facilities in Havana on Wednesday, officials touted the medical gear that had enabled them to save money and keep the mortality rate from COVID-19 low even as other countries had struggled to import such equipment.
“Our country is saving money and could save many millions of dollars thanks to all the results of sovereignty we have achieved,” said Eduardo Martínez, head of state-run biopharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma.
The Communist-run island nation has sought to develop such manufacturing in part in response to the decades-old U.S. trade embargo, tightened by former President Donald Trump, which hampers the import of medical equipment.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cuba/cuba-vaunts-technical-sovereignty-in-covid-battle-idUSKBN2BO44N
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