In fact, clinical trials have already in children aging from 3 to 18 years.

Soberana-Pediatría is the first study authorized in Cuba for children aging three to 18.

350 minors and teens volunteered to be vaccinated in this first study and will be administered with a heterologous vaccination schedule of 0-28 and 56 days, with two Soberana 02 doses and one of Soberana Plus, both developed by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, and proving a 91.2% of effectiveness.

On Monday, the first 25 teens received their second Soberana 02 dose.

The sample is divided into two groups: the first made up of adolescents from 12 to 18 and the second of children from three to 11.

The objective of the trial is to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of these candidates.

Meanwhile, a pediatric clinical trial with Abdala candidate begins today in the province of Camagüey, with nearly 600 children and adolescents from that territory volunteering in two phases.

Dr. Sonia Resik, senior researcher, specified that in this clinical trial – named Ismaelillo – the candidate´s safety and immunogenicity will be assessed.

‘In its Phase I, the clinical trial was conceived in two stages: the first one will include teenagers aging 12 to 18 years who are physically and mentally fit, and who have the consent of their parents,’ said Resik.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

As reported on the Mesa Redonda television program, the trials will include 592 children and adolescents between three and 18 years of age. It will include volunteers and is entitled Ismaelillo, in honor of the poem that José Martí dedicated to his son.

This is a Phase I-II adaptive, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, clinical investigation to evaluate, in apparently healthy Cuban children and adolescents, the safety and immunogenicity of a two-dose administration of the candidate vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

In order to participate in the study, an informed consent form must be signed by parents or legal guardians, as well as volunteers over 12 years of age.

The approval issued by Cecmed was based on a number of factors, specifically the currently alarming epidemiological situation, the significant increase of positive cases in the pediatric population, and information obtained in previous clinical trials with adult subjects.

Also reported was the news that Soberana 02 has been authorized by the Pasteur Institute of Iran for emergency use in the Islamic Republic.

According to a statement from Iranian Health Minister Dr. Said Nemeki, the vaccine will be marketed in the territory under the Pasteur name, within the framework of a collaboration agreement signed in January with the Finlay Vaccine Institute.

The authorization of Soberana 02 for emergency use in Iran was made on the basis of the product’s pharmaceutical development results, which demonstrated safety and immunogenicity in Phase I and II clinical trials conducted in Cuba, which showed 62% efficacy in the two-dose regimen.

(Taken from Granma)

Following verification of the candidate’s safety in a group of adolescents aged 12 to 18, clinical trials of Soberana-Pediatria continue with the inclusion of a second group of volunteers in the three to 11 age group, Yury Valdes Balbin, assistant director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute, reported.

The results of the security investigation revealed no adverse side effects, thus allowing for younger children to be included and the group of volunteers expanded to 150.

Specialists at the Finlay Institute explained that this is an open study with no placebos administered, and also adaptive, meaning that modifications can be made, if elements appear that indicate a change in the study’s design.

The trials will be conducted at several sites, with the first phase at Juan Manuel Marquez Pediatric Hospital and the second at the primary care level, involving several community polyclinics.

The study of the Cuban anti-COVID candidate vaccine will eventually include 350 children and adolescents, 50 in Phase I and 300 in Phase II, conducted in an overlapping and gradual process of three doses, in strict compliance with protocol and best practices.

(Taken from Granma)

Approved on June 10 by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED), this trials that will take place at the Juan Manuel Marquez Pediatric Hospital in Havana will be sequential, open and adaptive for three to 18 years of age.

To carry this out, 350 volunteers in pediatric ages will be divided into two age groups: from 12 to 18 and from three to 11.

This stage aims to assess the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the prophylactic vaccine candidates designed by the Finlay Institute of Vaccines (IFV) in Havana, at 28-day periods, a scheme already applied to the adult population.

Dr. Meiby de la Caridad Rodriguez, director of Clinical Research at IFV, explained that after every dose, children will remain under surveillance for an hour at the vaccination center, then they will have to go again every 24, 48 and 72 hours so that the specialists verify if they had adverse effects related to the vaccine.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

On his Twitter account, the president said that the prohibition of child labor is one of the elements of the right to employment in Cuba and added that the State guarantees the protection of minors and their interests, according to international law and commitments.

On the World Day against Child Labor, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also ratified on Twitter that of the 160 million children who are engaged in a kind of work activity, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), none is Cuban.

The foreign minister added that the high level of education of the Cuban population and the assistance to families guarantee childhood security.

Recently, UNICEF and the International Labor Organization (ILO) issued a report in which they warned that child labor cases rose by 8.4 million in the past four years, and at present 160 million of children are engaged in a kind of work activity.

The situation has worsened due the Covid-19 pandemic, the document indicates, and it highlights that progress to eradicate this problem was stalled for the first time in 20 years.

The text also stresses the growing number of children from 5 to 11 years of age who are engaged in child labor, which is slightly more than half of the total.

(Prensa Latina)

The proven safety of Soberana02 and SoberanaPlus has made it possible to take this step, among the first in the world, said the president on his Twitter account, where he thanked Cuban scientists for this achievement.

Cuba’s State Center for the Control of Medicines and Medical Devices (Cecmed) approved the implementation of the anti-Covid-19 clinical trial in the pediatric population with the vaccine candidates Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus on Thursday night.

This is a Phase I-II, open, adaptive and multicenter study to evaluate safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity, with a scheme of two doses of Soberana 02 and one of Soberana Plus, both developed by the Finlay Vaccines Institute.

The approval is based on the current epidemiological context, the considerable increase in the number of positive cases in the pediatric population, and on the safety and immunogenicity results of the vaccine candidates, as part of the Phase I and Phase II of clinical trials,’ said Cecmed.

This stage will be carried out at the Juan Manuel Marquez Pediatric Hospital, in Havana, with patients from three to 18 years, who will be part of a sample of 350 volunteers and must present an informed consent to participate in the study, as well as that of their parents or legal guardians.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

When the institution was founded in 2003, the rate was 1.7 per thousand live births, which has been progressively reduced by more than 50%, the clearest expression of the scope of the genetics program, which serves 95 to 99% of pregnant women and newborns in all prenatal and neonatal care programs.

Dr. Hilda Roblejo Balbuena, a specialist in Clinical Genetics, Assistant Professor, researcher, and head of Teaching and Research at this institution, said that this improvement is the result work done by the National Network of Medical Genetics Services with provincial departments and municipal services, and at the level of neighborhood polyclinics, adequately equipped, both in human and technological resources.

Also important is the fact that this institution – the national reference center for diagnosis, management, and prevention of genetic diseases and congenital defects – has managed to expand the availability of diagnoses for genetic diseases from about 40 in 2003, to more than 120 today. This has been possible with the addition of new laboratory techniques for the comprehensive study of infertile couples, also a priority for Cuban public health.

Dr. Roblejo added, “The molecular diagnosis of family breast cancer and family colon cancer, which implies the standardization of studies to identify individuals with a greater predisposition for these diseases, for preventive purposes,” constitutes another special priority for the National Center of Medical Genetics

These are pathologies that are among the leading causes of death and morbidity in Cuba. The genetic risk factors associated with the most common causes of death in all populations: cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as reproductive disorders (infertility) … indicate the need for a genetic culture with an increasingly preventive approach, which is, at the same time, the intervention strategy recognized as the most effective in the short and medium term,” she said.

(Granma)

Meanwhile, Qasim Al-Kazim’s dream of being a footballer was cut short when he lost one of his legs to a terrorist attack by the Islamic State. However, he survived and enjoyed the ultimate thrill when he was taken to Moscow, where he inaugurated, with the first kick of the ball, a soccer match between Russian teams Spartak and Ufa.

These are two examples of victims of the same killer: terrorism. Be it fundamentalist groups as in Iraq, or the wars and sanctions applied by the U.S. government, which should be judged as state terrorism.

Knowing that hundreds of thousands of children are affected every day by the wars or economic sanctions imposed by Washington against countries whose governments are not compatible with the model it wants to implement, is perhaps the most moving result of the latest actions by those who govern in the White House.

Here, in the 21st century, Venezuela, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan – countries with energy resources or representing strategic points in U.S. geopolitics – are destabilized or see attempts to conquer them. Their infrastructure is destroyed and their economies strangled with cruel financial sanctions, as part of the imperialist plan to dominate the world.

Troops and sophisticated weapons have been sent to Afghanistan in search of the Taliban, who continue to dominate part of the vast country, one of the poorest on the planet. Besides massacring its president, Libya has been turned into a failed state, and even today nobody has control over it. Its oil brought with it foreign conquerors who are already enjoying it.

In Yemen, where according to the UN, 80% of the 24 million inhabitants need urgent aid, the number of children killed increased from 900 to more than 1,500 between last year and now. Meanwhile, Syria is fighting against two enemies: the terrorism of the Islamic State, and that applied by the Pentagon with its air strikes, which kill children, women and the elderly, while illegally maintaining more than a thousand troops in that country. Venezuela, coveted for its oil and other riches, has become the main focus of international attention, after the U.S. President and his team of hawks, alongside the miserable OAS, and certain governments of the region pledged their support for a coup plan.

The death last week of Geovanny, aged just six years old, moved the Bolivarian nation and the international community. Another 26 Venezuelan children are waiting in Europe for PDVSA’s funds to be unfrozen, after being sent there by the revolutionary government to save their lives. They now endure the uncertainty that they could end up like Geovanny.

The U.S. people, who also have children – many of whom die in school shootings or are sent to war – must be moved on hearing about cases like these, and those of many others who die because of the weapons and sanctions of their government.

(Granma)

Inspired by the ideas of José Martí and with an anti-imperialist consciousness deeply embedded in their hearts, a group of ambitious youth attacked the headquarters of the pro-imperialist army of dictator Fulgencio Batista: the Moncada Garrison. Few died in battle, but many were savagely murdered by the dictatorship’s agents.

During his trial, Dr. Fidel Castro, leader and organizer of the assault, did not limit himself to denouncing the murders, the corruption, the sell-out politics, without addressing the serious crisis that weighed down on all sectors of national life, but rather, at the same time, he outlined with surprising precision and objectivity, the essential postulates of the program for all stages of the future revolution: land reform; comprehensive educational reform; reducing rents; nationalization of foreign corporations; industrialization; solidarity with the peoples of Latin America, etc.

It often occurs that political texts lose relevance quickly, being surpassed by new circumstances that lead us to forget the contingencies in which they were formulated. That is to say, current history often makes us forget the historic circumstances in which, at an earlier point, a certain comment was made, as time goes by. What is surprising about “History will absolve me” is its relevance, it currency, the interest in its study today. Everything he affirmed has been realized. Everything he presented has been fulfilled. Everything prophesized, with firm political decision, looking to the future, was made tangible …

ESSENTIAL QUOTES FROM FIDEL CASTRO’S HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME:

“I carry in my heart the teachings of the Maestro and in my mind the noble ideas of all men who have defended the freedom of the peoples of the world!”

“The problems of the Republic can only be solved if we dedicate ourselves to fight for it with the same energy, honesty and patriotism that our liberators invested in creating it.”

“When peoples achieve something they have yearned for throughout generations, no force in the world is capable of taking it away again.”

“In today’s world, no problem is solved by spontaneous generation.”

“Furthermore, if there is in this world a people that utterly abhors favoritism and inequality, it is the Cuban people.”

“Cuba, what would have become of you had you let your Apostle die?”

*Extracts from El juicio del Cuartel Moncada and La Historia me absolverá (1966)

(Granma)

Etched in his memory is July 4, 1962, the day he boarded Pan American Airways Flight 422, at 11:45 am. As he climbed the stairway, he wanted to return, and took a few steps back without turning around to see his mother, who had warned him not to take a final look.

He described the trip as frightening, the 45 saddest minutes of his life; there was no consolation. From the steel bird, as he called the plane, he saw the palms grow small, then the sea, and finally an unknown country: the United States.

Traveling with him were 10 other children, all without their families, and unaware that they were victims of Operation Peter Pan – a U.S. orchestrated wave of emigration, caused by distortions and lies disseminated to destroy the Cuban Revolution, during which 14,000 children were taken from the country.
His first days were hard, López recounted, living in a camp of Army tents, among older boys, where abuse and hostility reigned. His supposed protectors, Catholic priests and nuns, found it difficult to control the 500 adolescents, between 12 and 18 years of age, housed at the camp. All kinds of physical violence occurred, even sexual abuse by the priests themselves.

These experiences accentuated his love for Cuba, and after completing his university studies in Tourism, he created the travel agency Interplanner Travels, devoted to promoting group trips from the United States to socialist states in Eastern Europe. He established close ties with Cuban friendship centers in these nations, where he bought books and music, and heard news of the Revolution.

How did the first trip to Cuba come about?
Given my relationship with socialist bloc countries, the Cuban mission to the United Nations took interest in my work, during the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977- 1981), who made traveling to the island somewhat easier. I talked with the Cuban diplomats about the possibility of opening up tourism with Cuba. Returning was always in my plans, but I never thought I would do so on the invitation of the revolutionary government.

Direct flights were prohibited, so we flew from Canada in 1978. The first group was composed of professors and workers at Martyrs University in Keith.

To my surprise, on this trip I met the leader Fidel Castro. He visited us at the Hotel Riviera. I was talking with the tourists at the main entrance, where we were waiting for our bus. I suddenly noticed that some in the group changed their expressions, widening their eyes in amazement. I thought I had said something wrong in English, but then I felt someone touch me on the shoulder, like a friend, and when I turned around, I was surprised too, speechless.

Fidel greeted us casually and said we should call him by his first name, as a friend. He took interest in hearing if the academics were feeling good in Cuba and if the tour program was being conducted without difficulty. I never had any problems, not with this group, or any other I brought here.

This type of specialized tourism must have faced obstacles from different administrations? What has been the greatest problem?

One of the most notorious was during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981 -1989). I was ordered to close my office in Washington within 24 hours. We had to close a well-established company.

Fortunately, we kept our contacts and when there was a change at the White House, with the George H.W. Bush administration, we were able to re-establish the exchanges, at first with many more restrictions than at the beginning.

It is always a big problem making bank transfers to Cuba and can wear down anyone who wants to work.

Now with the Donald Trump administration, it’s practically impossible to find a bank to transfer funds. Plus tourists see the travel warning issued by the State Department, which claims that Cuba is not a safe country and that if any accident or illness should occur here, no insurance company would take responsibility.

For this reason, in 2017, we had 30 group cancellations, because no one wanted to travel to a supposedly dangerous location, much less when a government institution says so. They hide behind the alleged sonic attacks. I can tell you that, if they existed, I would be deaf. All we hear is the live music of bands.

In reality, the President is responding to the interests of a miniscule group of Cubans residing in Florida who have created a type of mafia, they amass personal fortunes erecting barriers to bilateral relations. They live off this business, because there are millions of dollars available to finance campaigns against the Cuban Revolution that have no effect.

I never thought I would witness a visit by a U.S. President, but I saw it with Barack Obama. He recognized that the economic blockade policy was not having the desired effect, in terms of overthrowing the Revolution, and therefore sought other strategies.

He didn’t have these bilateral talks because of goodwill or falling in love with Cuba. His tactics involved creating an atmosphere of rapprochement and direct conversations between the two governments. Perhaps a normal relationship could have been achieved with the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, but the current administration is undoing what had been accomplished. The differences between Cuba and the United States are not going to be solved, because the U.S. is obsessed with controlling and colonizing Cuba, just as happened in Puerto Rico.

I see it as a fatal attraction. The Yankee coveting Cuba’s strength.

How do you do promotional work in such a hostile environment, to coordinate group trips to Cuba?
By getting around the obstacles and adjusting to the circumstances. I dedicate hours of my life to conversing, dialoguing, with people. I introduce myself to professional organizations, universities, and other groups to attract them. We promote ourselves on the internet and use the experiences of those who have visited Cuba, since they are always pleasantly surprised.

Many people come with an unfounded fear of Communism. They have expressed absurd opinions, thinking they will be strictly supervised and constantly watched by spies. They think there is no freedom to walk the streets.

I explain that it is a place with a functioning socialist system, very different from other social systems around the world. When they return, they say they never imagined Cuba as a safe country, with no danger whatsoever. They return home excited to have learned of the existence of an educated, well informed people, who know how to settle problems between governments. This bridge of friendship is one that requires daily work.

Why has your love of Cuba been a constant in your work?

My biological parents always taught me to never be a traitor. I believe that when I left Cuba, the family thought I would be coming back soon. It was a five year separation. I felt I had lost my childhood. I promised myself I would return, and recover what had been taken from me, because I did not abandon it.

I was born in Matanzas, and whenever I visit my elementary school, I remember the morning ceremony there, when the children salute the flag in front of a bust of José Martí. This image of lining up every day, separated by the length of our right arms, and then singing the Cuban national anthem, I have never been able to forget.

The life of an immigrant is hard. In my case, I don’t feel I belong on one side or the other. I am in the environment identified as Cuban slash American, but this is not a nationality. I do not consider myself Cuban-American, or a Cuban who is a U.S. citizen. I think my life has been on this long pipeline that never ends. I live there, not on one side or the other.

The people of the country accepted me. They helped me and a family adopted me; they saved me. Now I’m bringing them for the first time. I always remember some of Fidel’s words in a conversation with one of my groups. He told us that even when we weren’t present, this was our home, where we could lay our heads.

The Mulvihill family, residents of New Jersey, told Granma International how they welcomed Alex into their home, until he was reunited with his biological parents.

Kathleen, wife and mother, recalled that, at that time, her husband worked as a Science teacher and talked about a very intelligent and affectionate Cuban boy in one of his classes. Later, they were visited by a social worker, who told them about the adoption process. They thought their two-bedroom house might be too small for another child, since they had two young daughters. (The Mulvihills later moved and two more daughters were born.)

The social worker looked at the living room couch and said they were in perfect conditions to receive Alex. Her husband Michael was 24 and she was 23, so they accepted the challenge, and it turned out to be a very positive experience, Kathleen said.

Michael emphasized that what motivated him was thinking about how hard it must have been for the biological parents to send a child away to another country. Alex quickly became the boy in the house they never had, and grew to be a much-needed member of the family.

Both say that Alex brought much happiness to their home, helping with the care of his little sisters, and later with their homework. Alex taught them to eat black beans, plantains, and other Cuban dishes. When his biological parents, Osvaldo and Victoria, arrived in the United States, they lived close by, became friends, and continued to enjoy Cuban food together.

The couple reported that they made their first visit to Cuba to see the country Alex talked about. They wanted to visit the place where he was born and where he went to school. They were amazed by their interactions with the Cuban people. Kathleen is a nurse – a daughter and grand-daughter have followed in her footsteps – and she praised the attention given pregnant women in Cuba.

Michael commented that he admired Cuba’s educational system, saying he was impressed with the country’s academic achievements.

When asked if they would make a second trip, without hesitation both answered at the same time, affirmatively. •

OPERATION PETER PAN

• Operation Peter Pan was launched by the U.S. government, at the end of 1960, as an attempt to destroy the Cuban Revolution which had triumphed in 1959. Among its principal organizers were James Baker and the priest Bryan O. Walsh. Perhaps the name chosen for the operation, Peter Pan, was fitting given the code name used for Miami: Never, Neverland.

• The maneuvers of these two encouraged parents of 14,000 Cuban children to send them to the U.S. between December of 1960 and October, 1962, using fake news about a supposed law to be enacted giving the revolutionary state parental power over minors.

• A huge media campaign was launched, principally on Radio Swan – a counterrevolutionary broadcaster in the service of U.S. intelligence agencies that could be heard in Cuba – sounding an alarm to frighten mothers October 26, 1960, and calling on them not to allow their children to be stolen.

• Working in Cuba was CIA agent José Pujals Mederos, who wrote the fake law and introduced it in the country, with the support of another CIA operative, Ramón Grau Alsina, nephew of Ramón Graú San Martín, former President during the semi-colonial republic. This team manufactured false passports and visas through the terrible program for unaccompanied minor Cuban refugees that served as the legal framework to allow for the presence of the children in the U.S.

• The children waited long years for family reunification and many were traumatized by physical and emotional harm in the improvised camps, where little professional attention was provided. Analysts point out that parents were not thinking about a reunification in the United States, but rather one in Cuba, with the return of their children after the revolutionary government was overthrown.

(Granma)