- On September 21, Mexico will receive a shipment of 1.75 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to use as second doses.
At this morning's press conference led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard reported that the 6th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) will be led by the President at the National Palace on September 18. Mexico will present the results of its pro tempore presidency, which ends this year.
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretary highlighted the Mexico-Argentina agreement to fill-finish AstraZeneca vaccines for the region. As a result, 17 countries in the region have vaccines. In addition, "At this time, Mexico is leading an initiative to support 13 research projects for Celac vaccines in a portfolio that includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba and Mexico."
He also highlighted the donation of ventilators made in Mexico and 1.3 million vaccine doses fill-finished nationally. Regarding regional coordination, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the meetings of the network of specialists with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the ECLAC regional plan for vaccines and medicines, and the creation of a network of virologists.
The results of two Mexican initiatives presented and approved in 2020 will also be announced. The first has to do with the creation of the Latin American Space Agency (ALCE) and its participation in the U.S. mission to the moon in 2024 and the scheduled mission to Mars. The second refers to creating a disaster fund to combat the impacts of climate change in the region.
16 Heads of State and Government have confirmed that they will attend the Summit: Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Uruguay.
Foreign Secretary Ebrard went on to discuss the national vaccine supply, saying that Mexico has guaranteed enough shipments to cover the entire population. He reiterated that by early October, Mexico should have received 120 million doses. Mexico will receive two donations from the United States: a shipment with 1.75 million doses of the Moderna vaccine on September 21, which will provide second doses to people who were vaccinated with the first shipment, and 4.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The secretary summed up the status of the clinical trials done in Mexico. There have been four Phase III clinical trials: CanSino, Janssen, Novavax and CureVac. This month, Cofepris approved four new phase III clinical trials: CanSino for children, Walvax, Sanofi and the vaccine developed by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
The Foreign Secretary reported that last week Mexico sent 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine fill-finished nationally to Honduras and Bolivia as second doses for people who were vaccinated with previous shipments. Second doses will also be sent to Jamaica, Paraguay and Belize, and a first shipment will be sent to Nicaragua this month.
Lastly, as part of the cooperation between Mexico and the United States, Secretary Ebrard said that the High-level Economic Dialogue (HLED) between both countries was held on September 9. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was agreed to create a Bilateral Working Group on Supply Chains, which will seek to ensure that these chains function even during crisis situations. The first results will be presented on November 9. It was further agreed to formally start talks so that Cofepris and various agencies in both countries can cooperate and move towards a regulatory convergence that would facilitates Mexico's access to medical devices.
On behalf of the Mexican government, the Foreign Ministry reaffirms its commitment to contributing to universal, timely and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines.
