Cuba has benefited from the international help of several governments, institutions and organizations, and we express our gratitude, especially to PAHO, Portal said.

For the good of our peoples, solidarity and cooperation can be privileged over selfishness, it is something that the pandemic h as ratified, Portal said at the 59th PAHO Directing Council, which was held virtually.

At these difficult times, Cuba maintains its support for the health sector in 59 countries on all continents, and medical brigades have been sent to 41 nations to fight Covid-19.

He explained that Cuba has a portfolio of products from the national pharmaceutical industry that include three drugs for preventive use and three antiviral and inflammatory drugs.

Likewise, Cuba has created four serological diagnose kits and three vaccines that were approved by regulatory authorities for emergency use, as well as two vaccine candidates in the clinical trial stage.

The process for the recognition of the national vaccines by the World Health Organization (WHO) with a view to their inclusion in the emergency list is underway, Portal confirmed.

He explained that the epidemiological situation in Cuba is complex, largely due to the circulation of the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes Covid-19.

Portal denounced the unilateral measures imposed by the United States Government, a country that has maintained an economic, commercial and financial blockade for more than half a century, and now in the midst of the pandemic, it prevents access to medical supplies, equipment and technology.

The progress in pediatric vaccination will make us the first country in the world to have this important population group immunized, the Cuban Public Health minister noted.

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