HF 4690

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 05/16/2020 10:07am

A resolution
urging further action to address the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives in Minnesota
by entering into medical and scientific collaboration with the country of Cuba;
memorializing Congress to remove restrictions on collaboration.

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 virus has created a worldwide pandemic that calls for international
cooperation to defeat it; and

WHEREAS, the people of Minnesota and the United States remain at risk from the infectious
disease; the country's death rate from the virus ranks among the highest in the world and a united,
cooperative, and engaged response by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government
is required to address the disaster; and

WHEREAS, in House Concurrent Resolution No. 6 the House of Representatives encouraged
Governor Tim Walz to continue to exercise all tools available under law to keep Minnesotans
healthy, safe, and secure for the duration of the outbreak; and

WHEREAS, Minnesota is home to many prestigious medical institutions, organizations, and
businesses, and is in a position to provide leadership to the rest of the country in medical research,
treatment, and cooperation; and

WHEREAS, the country of Cuba has a long history of medical aid to other countries and
many of its medical personnel are now intimately involved in the fight against COVID-19 as part
of the specially trained Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade against Disasters and Serious
Epidemics, which distinguished itself in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and
has assisted with other epidemics around the world including dengue fever, HIV, swine flu, and
hepatitis; 50 countries have requested aid from the brigade; and

WHEREAS, Cuba offers treatment regimens that use its drug Interferon Alpha-2B
Recombinant, which has not been approved for use in the United States due to increased restrictions
against collaboration with Cuba; and

WHEREAS, regimens using Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant are now being employed in
both Cuba and China as standard COVID-19 treatment protocol; and

WHEREAS, reports point to the efficacy of Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant, when combined
with other drugs, in treating COVID-19; it has been called a possible wonder drug against the virus
in the Yale University Press Blog; and

WHEREAS, in an extensive medical handbook on how to treat COVID-19 that was recently
published by Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant is a
crucial component of the anti-viral treatment to combat the coronavirus and is also used as a
preventative measure to protect health care workers from contagion; and

WHEREAS, more than 80 countries have shown interest in acquiring Cuba's Interferon
Alpha-2B Recombinant, demonstrating trust in the therapy's success in confronting the pandemic;
and

WHEREAS, many medical professionals, including Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, have signed a
statement calling for medical, clinical, and scientific collaboration with Cuba and incorporating
Cuba's Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant in clinical trials; and

WHEREAS, there is precedent for medical collaboration between Minnesota institutions and
Cuba in the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between the Province of Santa Clara, Cuba, and
the Minnesota Association of Public Health; and

WHEREAS, there is further precedent for similar collaborative initiatives in other states, as
demonstrated by the joint venture between Cuba's Center for Molecular Immunology and Buffalo's
Roswell Park comprehensive Cancer Center in developing CIMAvax, the Cuban lung cancer
vaccine, and the collaboration between medical personnel from Cuba and the University of Illinois
on infant mortality in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, in 2015 the World Health Organization recognized Cuba's medical system as
a worldwide leader in biotechnology; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. embargo of Cuba has severely restricted collaboration on scientific
and medical research; and

WHEREAS, the people of Minnesota would benefit from the medical expertise and
advancement in Cuba, as have many countries around the world; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it calls on Governor
Tim Walz to direct the Department of Health and other agencies, as appropriate, to investigate the
potential for collaborating with Cuba to obtain crucial assistance and expertise for Minnesota
residents in the midst of the pandemic; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of Minnesota calls on the
Congress of the United States and the President of the United States to lift restrictions on access to
Cuban medical expertise, including the importation of Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant, in order
to more effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of Minnesota calls on other
states to join in this action by passing the same or similar resolutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed
to prepare enrolled copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States,
the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United
States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.