US Receives World Hypocrisy Award
Cuban scientist cannot travel to the USA to receive award BY ORFILIO PELAEZ--Granma daily staff writer THE San José, California Technical Museum has awarded one of its annual prizes in the health category to the team of specialists who worked on obtaining the Cuban vaccine against Haemophilus infuenzae Type B, the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia and other infections in under-fives. The award ceremony is scheduled for November 9 at the museum itself, but Dr. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, the principal author of this important achievement, cannot attend it because the U.S. government has refused him a visa, arguing that his presence would be prejudicial to that country’s interests. When Granma asked him about that absurd decision, the likewise director of the University of Havana Synthetic Antigens Center said that it could be an attempt to minimize the impact of the vaccine in the context of U.S. public opinion. Its candidacy for the award dates back to an article in the prestigious...