Washington, April 1 (RHC)--The American people would benefit today from Cuba's experience in the battle against COVID-19 if the blockade were lifted, say New York activists in a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus.

At a time when the numbers of infected and dead in the country -which has become a global epicenter of the pandemic- are soaring, Dr. Rosemari Mealy and lawyer Joan Gibbs are calling for the promotion of emergency legislation for access to proven Cuban medicines such as Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2B, used with good results in China.

Mealy and Gibbs, whose work focuses on developing legislative, local, and national strategies in mobilization efforts to end the US blockade against Cuba, urge the Caucus in their letter to take immediate action during this pandemic, Prensa Latina highlights.

It is 'an appropriate moment to raise the issue of respect for Cuba's sovereignty and to reverse the draconian anti-humanitarian policies of the Trump administration', they suggest.

In their letter, the solidarity activists also recognize 'Cuba's biotechnology industry, especially in the area of research and production of pharmaceuticals' and list successful 'vaccines for eye infections, lung cancer and more'.

At the same time, they reiterate that the organizations IFCO-Pastors for Peace, Cuba Si -NY, the National Network on Cuba and many other groups in the United States 'will continue to demand the repeal of the Helms-Burton Act, the lifting of the blockade and the end of the travel ban.'

They also regret that the advances of friendship and respect for mutual sovereignty that began under the Obama administration have been dealt a blow from the Trump administration, which has set the clock back decades.

They said it is "shameful" that the United States sells weapons of mass destruction to other nations while Cuba is criticized for sending its trained doctors all over the world to relieve the pain and suffering of people.

In their call to African-American legislators, Mealy and Gibbs recall that 175 American physicians trained at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) who are now part of the frontline army of health professionals contributing their services during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the US.

Commenting about the situation in New York, 'it's terrible, and it will get worse because there is no leadership from this president and the Republicans', Mealy told Prensa Latina.

More than 3,300 people have died so far in the United States," she said, but "Trump's only concern is the stock market and profits instead of people," she lamented.

"The pandemic, for the people of this country, represents the latest disaster of capitalism," she concluded.