This week, the Cuban government will vaccinate about ten percent of the local population against swine flu. This means that the Cuban authorities have changed their attitude towards this procedure. Initially, they were skeptical about vaccination, considering immunization to be ineffective and costly. According to local media reports, vaccination will be carried out in two stages. The first stage will start on April 1. The full cost of the vaccine, which cost the Cuban authorities nearly $11.5 million, will be paid by the World Health Organization. Local journalists report 80,000 pregnant women to be vaccinated first. Also among the first to be vaccinated are education and health workers, young Cubans suffering from various kinds of chronic diseases, airport employees and people who regularly come into contact with representatives of foreign countries.
Cuban President Raul Castro said that at the end of last year, 41 deaths from swine flu were recorded on the island. Most of the dead suffered from chronic illnesses that were exacerbated by the dangerous virus, or had contact with people who arrived from countries with a high level of swine flu. In particular, they include Mexico and the United States of America. According to Cuban health workers, last year the authorities on the island of Liberty preferred the announcement of mass quarantines and blocking of areas where swine flu spread to imported expensive vaccines. The Cuban authorities changed their position only after the Secretary General of the World Health Organization Margaret Sen announced that the organization plans to distribute 200 million doses of vaccines among the population of one hundred developing countries. Liberty Island is one of them.
