Cubans Demand Vaccines Rejected by Leery Americans

By Cliff Kincaid

[DISCLAIMER: The opinion in this article is the sole opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of NewsWithViews.com, it’s employees, representatives, or other contributing writers.]

The people of Cuba are marching FOR Covid-19 vaccines. Here, Tucker and Laura question the effectiveness of American-made vaccines, and some Americans decline them, playing Russian roulette.

Here’s from the Wall Street Journal:

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in a wave of demonstrations in Havana and at least 14 other cities throughout the Communist island, demanding an end to the 62-year dictatorship and protesting the lack of food and Covid-19 vaccines.

Here’s from the Miami Herald:

In an unprecedented display of anger and frustration, thousands of people took to the streets Sunday in cities and towns across Cuba, including Havana, to call for the end of the decades-old dictatorship and demand food and vaccines, as shortages of basic necessities have reached crisis proportions and COVID-19 cases have soared.

USA Today reported:

Protesters, many of them young people, chanted, “We want freedom” and “We want vaccines” as they marched on Havana, the island’s capital. Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, exacerbated by a surge in coronavirus cases coupled with a low vaccination rate.

A Florida TV station reports:

In social media posts, you can see and hear the Cubans marching and shouting “Patria y Vida” o “Queremosvacunas” y “Libertad, ”“We want vaccines” and “We want freedom.”

National Public Radio reports:

Although the protesters were asking for food, medicine and vaccines, the loudest cries were for an end to the communist regime.

NBC reports:

Thousands of Cubans in Havana protest against pandemic restrictions, the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations and frustrations with the government.

No wonder the Cubans want vaccines. Not the ones promised by the Communist regime, but those made by American firms.

Senator Marco Rubio notes, “Rather than accept reliable internationally produced vaccines, the regime is trying to develop its own so it can sell to countries and further funnel money.”

Let this message sink in.

Former President Trump says, “The only way we defeat the China Virus is with our great vaccines!” But many of his supporters don’t agree. They have turned against their beloved leader, the former president.

In today’s world of conservative journalism, where clicks mean views and bad news sells, paranoia and pandering on the matter of the Trump Warp Speed vaccines have taken charge, poisoning minds and threatening lives. In today’s conservative media, pro-Trumpers have become anti-Trumpers on the matter of vaccines.

Consider that conservatives like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham have become the faces of the anti-vaccine movement. They seem to be competing for bad news to convey to their millions of viewers. The result is that people are scared of the vaccines but not the virus, even as the virus variants infect more people and take more lives.

Ironically, several Fox News stars recorded a public service announcement (PSA) in favor of the vaccines. Harris Faulkner, Steve Doocy, Dana Perino and John Roberts joined together in asking Americans to “keep up the fight” against COVID-19 by taking the shot.

In the Fox News COVID vaccine PSA, Doocy says, “America, we’re in this together.”

The political tragedy for the Republican Party is that the antics of Tucker and Laura are making Trump’s Warp Speed vaccine project look bad in front of his own supporters.

As someone who has taken the vaccine and believes it offers freedom from disease and death, I am hearing from them. Some are now saying Trump has “blood on his hands” for making vaccines available to the American people.

Democrats are watching this with glee. They see the Republican Party divided and exploding in turmoil over the vaccines. At the same time, Joe Biden is exploiting Trump’s accomplishment, acting as if the vaccines were his idea, and that he deserves credit for saving lives.

All of this represents a political vulnerability for Republicans, many of whom are not only “vaccine hesitant” but hesitant to give Trump credit for an amazing accomplishment.

The additional tragedy is the amount of misinformation that is available on conservative web sites.

Of course, people should be free to make up their own minds. But when they repeat or accept information that is false, that’s a serious matter in contemplating a potential life and death decision.

For the umpteenth time, I have read that the China virus has not been isolated and therefore doesn’t exist. The claim is absolute insanity and suggests that their leader, former President Trump, has been lying.

“The CDC has been unable to deliver a single sample of an isolated COVID19 strain,” says one “Lex Greene,” said to be “an avid historian with many years’ professional experience in U.S. and World events.” It’s a tragic joke that will get people killed. Somebody with that much experience and knowledge should identify himself. His column appears at the News With Views website, which runs my factually-based columns with “disclaimers” about them being my opinion.

I have the benefit of consulting real experts. I asked Col. Lawrence Sellin, an expert, about the dangers. He replied, “It is a virus. It has been isolated and we have a sequence for it. And the sequence has been examined not once but twice but thousands of times. The samples are taken throughout the world. We know what the sequence is. We know it’s mutating.”

Sellin also believes in the vaccines. “I’m pro-vaccine,” he says. He adds, however, that it’s a personal decision and that people should not be forced to take the vaccine because some have greater risks than others. I agree.

But the idea that the virus has not been identified or isolated is just plain false. It is beyond irresponsible for web sites to publish fiction as fact.

Pandering to the fringe who doubt the vaccines is standard operating procedure.

It is increasingly difficult for facts to be published in the conservative media about the benefits of vaccines. Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham seem to be competing over pursuing new leads about questions regarding the vaccines.

For the record, here’s the CDC website that discusses the isolation of the virus. It says, “SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was isolated in the laboratory and is available for research by the scientific and medical community.”

It’s the isolation of the virus that has made possible the vaccines to fight and defeat it. It’s no wonder those who think the virus doesn’t exist are opposed to the vaccines.

E-Mail Cliff Kincaid: kincaid@comcast.net

*Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s Survival, Inc. www.usasurvival.org