It is now common knowledge that Venezuela's dealings with Covid19 have been a failure. The best that can be said is that the regime has bet secretly on herd immunity because, well, there is nothing else the regime can do.
And yet in the midst of this abject failure to preserve the health of Venezuelans, the regime manages to outdo itself in its abjectness. Now Maduro on TV has revealed himself a snake oil promoter. Rarely I have been as angry at the regime than after seeing the clip below.
Well, against his incapacity to deal with COVID and much less to vaccinate the country @NicolasMaduro has decided to sell snake oil. With "carvativir" he claims that 10 drops under your tongue every 4 hours will kill 100% of the coronavirus.
— daniel duquenal (@danielduquenal) January 25, 2021
Let's delve: https://t.co/0CpLkxz0Eb pic.twitter.com/Rms6HYcN8v
What is behind all of that charade?
Maduro is promoting what we have seen in so many denial and conspiracy theories about Covid: an unproven herbal concoction as the miracle cure for Covid. Ten drops under your tongue, every 4 hours. Voilà. And to promote the miraculous aspect he throws in Jose Gregorio Hernandez, a reluctantly future saint of the Catholic Church. We do not know what is inside, how it has been tested, if it can be produced in large amounts, if it has secondary effect, nothing. But if you read the loving replies of chavistas to Maduro's announcement tweet you will read an act of faith, a disdain for science and even a belief that science must bend to ideology. We are back to Stalin and Lyssenko. Even the chosen name is a manipulation: Carvativir, to link it to sophisticated antiviral agents that took years to create.
Maduro has nothing else to offer. Public hospitals cannot deal with the situation. They do not even have enough running water to allow for the basic anti covid hygiene practices. Medical personnel has been so lacking of protection that its unofficial count of deceased has amply passed the 300 mark . Statistics are, of course, unreliable: the opposition claims that the death toll is at the very least double what the regime says. So unreliable statistics are that some international world counting sites do not include Venezuelan numbers, or worse show Venezuela as a most successful country against Covid.
There is, as could be expected, no serious plan on vaccines. And even less of a belief that the regime could carry it successfully. A mere simple PAHO Covid test offer upon which, a true miracle this one, the regime and the opposition had agreed upon was promptly rerouted by the regime on arrival. And was not carried properly anyway with unbelievable delays! Imagine if vaccines at -70°C had to be managed, even just for Caracas! The regime has tried to use the excuse of Covid to recover some of the funds frozen because of sanctions. But the opposition has refused to hand them to the regime on account of the regime proven incompetence and corruption. However the opposition accepts that the funds be used by international independent agencies which the regime refuses point blank: any thing for el pueblo must come from the hands of the regime. Period.
At any rate, using Pfizer or Moderna Covid vaccines is not possible in Venezuela under the current logistic nightmare, starting with frequent power outages. Barely Caracas could be considered for those vaccines, preferably Moderna at -20°C. The only thing we have heard from the regime is for an eventual deal for the Russian SputnikV. In fact Maduro blithely offered Venezuelans last year as guinea pigs for their phase III studies of which, of course, we know nothing of the results. Will Maduro pay for enough vaccines? Does he want to, really? Even at this typing I do not know whether the chinese vaccines are considered...... However I am sure the evil capitalist Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca are ruled out, except perhaps secretly for the corrupt elite.
A picture I never expected! |
Meanwhile, if you are in Venezuela take your ten drops and pray to Jose Gregorio.
Reminds me of Chavez using the Santa Maria cult for similar goals. Also, I remember many Herbal Medicine Shops, even in good times, the only option for many. Phd's like you, Miguel and others should have been allowed to work for a better Venezuela even before the craziness that made Chavezimo. Have they published a prayer card yet? My favorite is the one to Pancho Villa, but if that's your only hope ....?
ReplyDeleteYep, Miguel and I did suffer from the anti science trend of chavismo, its lack of logic serving its excess of purpose.
DeleteThere is no better proof of faith, than use this medicine and save the medical mask to people who needs them. All the leaders of chavismo should show the people his confidence on this miraculous medicine.
ReplyDelete