Russia requests authorization to administer its Sputnik V vaccine in Mexico

The Mexican government continues to expand its options to vaccinate the population against covid-19.

After the authorization to Pfizer, the Foreign Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, confirmed this Monday that Russian manufacturers have submitted the request to administer their Sputnik V vaccine in Mexico.

For now, Russia has delivered the documentation to the Federal Commission for the Protection of Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) to be able to carry out clinical trials in the country and thus obtain authorization.

The entry of the Russian vaccine in Mexico would have been made at the invitation of the Executive of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, according to Ebrard on his Twitter account.

In September, Mexico agreed with Russia to supply 32 million doses of its vaccine.

The Mexican laboratory Landsteiner Scientific will be in charge of distributing it, according to the Russian state agency.

The director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RPFI), Kiril Dmítriev, then pointed out that with this batch of Sputnik V "about 25% of the Mexican population will have access to an effective and safe vaccine."

The supply was scheduled to begin on January 1, but that date could be brought forward if Cofrepris gives the green light to complete trials in Mexican volunteer patients earlier.

The arrival of the Russian vaccine in Mexico represents a new move on the geopolitical board.

On the one hand, it allows President López Obrador to strengthen his vaccination options.

The president had already insisted on several occasions that Mexico had a "special treatment" with the United States, China and Russia: "They consider us as a priority country."

And, on the other side of the world, it helps the dissemination of a vaccine criticized by experts for the speed of its trials and the lack of transparency.

Russia intends with Sputnik V to return Russian science to the forefront, and for that it needs the trust of countries to supply it.

The Kremlin, which began the widespread vaccination campaign last Monday, has deployed the machinery to publicize Sputnik V around the world.

And much of his expectations are focused on Latin America, where Russia is increasingly cultivating interests.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández even said last week that he would be the first to get the Russian dose "before anyone else so that no one is afraid of him."

Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya public institute, was the first vaccine to be registered in the world.

Its name, which refers to the first satellite to be launched into space and with which the USSR overtook the United States in the space race, illustrates how important it is for Moscow to lead this new scientific race to fight covid-19.

In Mexico, Cofepris approved the supply of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday.

The country became the first in Latin America to approve the vaccine from the US pharmaceutical company and will also be the one to start mass immunization in the region.

The forecasts of the Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, suggest that the immunization plan will begin with the help of the Army in the third week of December with the first 250,000 vials that arrive in the country.

López Obrador already announced that the vaccine would be universal, free and easily accessible to the population.

Health personnel will be the first to be immunized for being on the front line of battle against the disease, with Mexico being the country with the highest mortality rate among doctors and nurses from coronavirus in the world.

López Obrador has suggested to the companies that they take charge of vaccinating their workers as "a solidarity contribution", but he has insisted that the responsibility to guarantee the right to health lies with the Mexican State.