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MN HF2518
Bill
Status
4/13/2021
Primary Sponsor
Liz Reyer
Click for details
AI Summary
H.F. No. 2518 Summary
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Urges Governor Tim Walz to direct the Department of Health and other agencies to investigate potential collaboration with Cuba for medical expertise and assistance to benefit Minnesota residents, particularly underserved Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.
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Calls on the United States Congress and President to lift restrictions on access to Cuban medical expertise to combat the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively.
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Directs the Minnesota Secretary of State to transmit copies of this resolution to the President, Congress, and Minnesota's federal representatives.
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Cites Cuba's lower COVID-19 death rate (287 deaths vs. Minnesota's 6,480 as of February 19, 2021) and Cuba's development of treatments including Interferon Alpha 2B Recombinant, a pharmaceutical in clinical trials unavailable in the United States due to the 60-year-old embargo.
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References precedent for U.S.-Cuba medical collaboration, including a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, and existing joint ventures on cancer vaccine development.
Legislative Description
COVID-19; a resolution urging increased action to address the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives in Minnesota by entering into medical and scientific collaboration with the nation of Cuba; memorializing Congress and the President of the United States to remove restrictions on collaboration.
Last Action
Introduction and first reading, referred to Health Finance and Policy
4/13/2021