- Mexico's strategy is due to the President's timely and accurate vision: Ebrard
- To date, Mexico has received or fill-finished 15,163,420 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
At today's morning press conference led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard announced that he would soon travel abroad on the President's instructions to ensure fulfillment of the vaccine agreements Mexico had signed.
The Foreign Secretary will visit Russia, with which we have an agreement for up to 24 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, 900,000 of which have been received to date, and China, where Mexico has agreements with Sinovac and CanSino. The last agreement is for 35 million doses, of which Mexico has received just over 1 million, as of today.
He will also visit India, not only because of the agreement between Mexico and the Serum Institute, but also because Mexico is close to approving the first vaccine developed in India. He said that the process is already well advanced, hence the importance of the visit. The Foreign Secretary will also travel to the United States, with which Mexico has an excellent relationship and whose continued support we appreciate.
The exact dates of the visits will be announced in the next few days. The goal will be to ensure that Mexico receives the agreed vaccines in a timely manner in order to be able to meet the goal of vaccinating all older adults and the parts of the population that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has indicated as priorities.
In addition, the Secretary discussed the international panorama of the supply of COVID-19 vaccines. The main producing countries are currently engaged in mass vaccination campaigns, which is why the Government of Mexico is working to ensure that the vaccines are not delayed and are delivered as stipulated in the agreements it has signed and paid for with various pharmaceutical companies and countries.
To date, Mexico has received or fill-finished 15,163,420 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. From March 29 to April 5, 2,828,975 doses were shipped to Mexico, due to conversations between President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his counterparts in other countries.
The Foreign Secretary said that Mexico expects to have 1,247,360 doses ready to use from April 6-11, as follows: 487,500 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will arrive on April 8 and 327,600 more will arrive on April 9, and 432,260 doses of the CanSino vaccine fill-finished in Mexico will be distributed this week.
Foreign Secretary Ebrard reiterated that the Government of Mexico has stepped up its negotiations with many countries in order to have a diverse portfolio of vaccines as soon as possible. Mexico began conversations with pharmaceutical companies and governments in July 2020, seeking timely and equitable access to various vaccines. The strategy has paid off; Mexico was the first country in Latin America to receive COVID-19 vaccines and now has various options for vaccinating its population.
Lastly, Secretary Ebrard said that the President has participated directly in the diplomatic steps being taken, which has made it possible for Mexico to have the portfolio of vaccines it has today: "Mexico's strategy has clearly benefited from the timely and accurate vision of the President," he said.
