Order “Carlos J. Finlay” to be awarded in March

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 1 (ACN) The Order “Carlos J. Finlay”, the Cuban government's highest decoration awarded to nationals and foreigners for their contributions to scientific development for the benefit of mankind, will be given this month, according to reports.

A group of 80 recipients nominated in 2020 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA), MSc. Maria Luisa Zamora Rodriguez, chair of the evaluation commission, told ACN. “Six of them are from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) and one from the Ministry of Higher Education (MES), whereas 23 are CITMA specialists. Three BioCubaFarma entities— the Molecular Immunology Center, the National Biopreparations Center, and the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center. The latter two are in charge of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates together with other institutions of the Cuban health system, which is universal, public and free of charge.

Joining them on the list are two groups: the Fernando Ortiz Foundation of the Ministry of Culture, and the “Henry Reeve” International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics. Henry Reeve (1850-1876) was a young American who became Brigadier General of the Cuban Liberation Army in the fight for national independence.

On August 14, 1881, Carlos Juan Finlay de Barres (1833-1915) presented his thesis on the female Aedes Aegypti mosquito as a transmitter of yellow fever at the Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana, and designed a plan to eradicate the disease. The UNESCO Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology is named in his honor.