Viva La Ciencia

From the AP, U.S. State Department denies visa for a Cuban scientist to receive an award for his work:

"Verez-Bencomo led a team that developed a vaccine for Haemophilus influenza type B, also known as Hib, a bacteria that causes meningitis and pneumonia. The diseases kill up to 700,000 children worldwide each year."

Wealthy western nations already developed a similar, but more expensive vaccine. The vaccine created by Verez-Bencomo et al is a much more affordable alternative for underdeveloped nations, with the potential to "save millions of lives." The rocket surgeons at the U.S. State Dept., however, deemed his visa request to receive due praise as "detrimental to the interests of the United States." Would it be a non sequitur to conclude, then, that our interests are letting millions of brown children die of preventable diseases?

So, on behalf of us yanks who aren't total dickheads unable to distinguish between political leaders and medical researchers, who don't feel the need to demonize every resident of every country not like ours, who are mature enough to realize that we fuck up too (even, ironically, in our own little piece of Cuba), I'd like to give a big thanks to Mr. Verez-Bencomo. The ingenuity of Cuban medical researchers here is laudable, and also points to important variables that developing countries have to deal with in drug development.

And to the U.S. State Dept., ya'll might want to grow up and learn when to put your differences aside in the name of medical science. Has it occurred to you that H5N1 is most prevalent in mostly poor countries in Southeast Asia – countries with governments we don't always agree with? This sort of myopic thinking can only serve to thwart progress in fighting potential pandemics like H5N1. Further, considering a Republican energy policy suitable for bringing tropical weather – and tropical diseases like dengue fever – to the Eastern seaboard, we might want to form some alliances with Cuban doctors. We might need their expertise in creating cheap and effective drugs.