EDITOR’S NOTE: In this issue, #HealthCaribbean looks at achievements likely to impact healthcare, not only in the Caribbean but globally. As should be expected, the majority of our articles — 4 out of 5 in fact — focus on the global pandemic.
From a global perspective, a multinational research team, including medical professionals from Jamaica and Trinidad, claims to have made a major breakthrough using menthol crystals to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Cuba is entering phase III testing of it’s Soberana 02 vaccine, with Latin American neighbour Mexico being the likely location for clinical trials.
From a regional perspective, the final article on the pandemic is political. The Caribbean community (CARICOM) met virtually between 24-25 February to discuss containment of the pandemic and economic recovery. Otherwise, the sole presentation unrelated to the pandemic concerns a type of brain surgery successfully performed in Guyana for the first time.