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Mexico plans to start vaccination against covid-19 in December

2020-11-25T14:00:05.465Z


Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has reported that they are waiting for the approval of the Mexican health authorities to buy the vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer


Mexico has started the race against time to get the vaccine against covid-19.

Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Relations, reported this Tuesday morning that the Executive headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador hopes that the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), which depends on his Administration, will give the go-ahead to the vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to begin the vaccination program in December.

“We have the resources to buy them.

[The vaccine] is going to be free, it is going to be universal, ”President López Obrador assured again in his morning conference.

Ebrard has been optimistic about his country's ability to import the vaccine despite the logistical implications that this drug requires, including the expensive freezing system it needs to maintain itself.

The head of Mexican diplomacy has reported that the United States Federal Food Agency (FDA) is expected to approve this vaccine on December 10.

Four days later the vaccination program will begin in that country.

In the case of Mexico, Ebrard has reported that Cofrepis, which depends on the Ministry of Health, will receive this Wednesday the technical file from the New York-based pharmaceutical company.

Once the health permits have been obtained, the Mexican authorities expect the vaccine to be in Mexican territory in five days.

Salud is organizing vaccination points throughout the country.

“If everything goes as planned, Mexico will start its vaccination process in December.

We are going to start with a very short distance from the United States and Germany ”, said the Chancellor.

The hopes of the Mexican government are not only pinned on the Pfizer vaccine.

The Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed three agreements at the beginning of October to try to ensure up to 198 million doses of different vaccines.

In addition to Pfizer, the agreements include pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca (United Kingdom) and CanSino (China).

In the case of the Asian drug, Ebrard has said that Cofepris has given the go-ahead to 19 centers to conduct trials in Mexico with 15,000 volunteers in 16 states, including Mexico City, one of the epicenters of the pandemic.

“Once it has the emergency authorization, it will be sent to Mexico for packaging.

CanSino is yet to decide with which Mexican company it will do it ”, reported Ebrard.

In the case of AstraZeneca, in early August the governments of Argentina and Mexico announced that both countries will produce up to 250 million doses of the experimental vaccine that the University of Oxford is developing together with the British laboratory AstraZeneca.

The doses will be ready during the first half of 2021. The price of each one will be between two and four dollars, a “cost” value, possible thanks to an agreement with the Slim Foundation for the development of the regional project.

"AstraZeneca advances for the production and distribution for all Latin America", the Mexican Foreign Minister assured this Tuesday.

Funeral aid to victims

In addition to the negotiations to access vaccines, President López Obrador has reported that his Administration will begin to provide financial aid to those who have lost family members due to the pandemic in December.

Mexico already adds 101,926 deaths due to covid-19, so the federal government will begin to deliver 11,460 pesos (about $ 520) to those who request it as of December 2.

To do this, an online platform will be activated to make the applications, in which the interested parties must present a death certificate that specifies that the death was due to the new coronavirus, in addition to delivering official documents that demonstrate the kinship between those who request the support and the victim of the pandemic.

"It is a contribution to the expenses incurred by families for funeral services", said Zoé Robledo, general director of the IMSS.

"It is a universal aid, regardless of whether they have social security or their economic condition," he said.

The covid-19 pandemic has hit Mexico hard.

The country has more than a million infections and the virus is spreading relentlessly, so local authorities such as the Government of Mexico City have decided to impose new restrictions.

The economy has also been a victim of covid-19, with tens of thousands of businesses closed and more than five million unemployed.

That is why the hope of the López Obrador Administration is to have access to a vaccine.

The government has said it intends to vaccinate 116 million people, more than 90% of the population.

“We are working to reduce the number of deaths.

There is no risk that the pandemic will overtake us, ”the Mexican president reiterated.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-11-25

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