Mexican Foreign Minister Arranges U.S. Visit for Additional Vaccine Supply Security
In order to get through the next critical months, a top official revealed Wednesday that Mexican Foreign Minister will soon fly to the United States to request for additional vaccine supply from its neighbor due to shortage.
Based on the information, Marcelo Ebrard, the Foreign Minister of Mexico, will make his trip to the U.S. to thank the Biden administration for the fast delivery of 2.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country.
According to Bloomberg, during an interview, Deputy Foreign Minister Martha Delgado shared that the Mexican Foreign Minister will also push for additional doses for the country's critical time.
Moreover, Delgado added that there was a permanent petition for any available vaccines from the U.S., like the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet received any approval from the regulators in the country. She also added that the U.S. government recognizes the need for Mexico to have access to such vaccines as quickly as possible.
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The Deputy Foreign Minister said the next three months will be vital for Mexico as the shipment from their list of suppliers will start to arrive in the next half of the year. Delgado also added that she was confident that the U.S. would be providing more doses of the vaccine due to their deep ties between the countries in the North American trade bloc.
In addition, she also mentioned that the U.S. would not also want Mexico to fall far behind in battling against COVID-19 as it might be risky in the region. Delgado also emphasized that it is not just about economic integration because it caters to human integration, and she believes that the U.S. understands it very well.
Delgado also shared that Ebrard will be visiting China and Russia as part of the country's vaccine negotiations, Reuters reported.
Mexico in Pandemic
Mexican officials are currently ramping up the pace of their vaccination program, which is presently running around 360,000 doses daily after delivering close to 9.3 million doses of the vaccine. Based on the current rate of the administering of vaccine, it will take Mexico 16 months estimated for the government to inoculate 75% of their total population with two jabs.
Furthermore, Delgado said that the country has also produced its own first batch of AstraZeneca from a factory in their capital, Mexico City. The Deputy Foreign Minister said that the first production of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the country and Latin America will be analyzed. Based on the assessment of health officials, it will be available either at the end of April or the first week of May.
Also, Delgado revealed that the production at their local factory faced delays due to a series of problems, especially from obtaining a type of filter from a subsidiary of Merck & Co.
Mexico became the third country in the world to reach more than 200,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, after U.S. and Brazil, countries that have larger populations, The Guardian reported. But some reports show that the actual number already exceeds the official number of fatalities reported by the government.
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WATCH: Mexico health experts concerned about COVID vaccine supply - Al Jazeera English
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