• Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said that 6,000 volunteers would participate in the phase III study, pending approval by Cofepris.
• Mexico ranks second in Latin America with the highest number of doses acquired and administered.
At this morning's press conference led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard gave an update on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and announced the upcoming phase III trials in Mexico for the Chinese Walvax vaccine candidate.
In addition, he said that, "Mexico ranks 12th in access to vaccinations, and is second in Latin America, with the highest number of doses acquired and administered…Mexico is the Latin American country with the highest number of emergency use authorizations for vaccines, and this has been done with great rigor by the health authorities."
The Foreign Secretary discussed the doses received or fill-finished in recent days in Mexico, for a total of 27,093,685 to date. From May 4-10, Mexico received or fill-finished a total of 1,669,330 doses of Sinovac and CanSinoBio COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, a shipment of enough antigen to fill-finish about 5,700,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived on May 10.
The Foreign Secretary said that Mexico will begin phase III studies of the Chinese Walvax vaccine candidate. He said, "Chinese authorities have officially communicated to us that they will begin in Mexico pending authorization from the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris)." The vaccine uses mRNA technology and does not need to be stored at freezing temperatures. Six thousand volunteers will participate in the trials to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the Mexican population.
The Foreign Secretary thanked the People's Republic of China for its support from the very start of the pandemic. From the beginning of the pandemic to the bulk shipment of CanSino vaccine, over 30 flights have arrived in Mexico with various supplies. "And now, this vaccine is going to be approved, or [rather] we are going to participate in the phase III [trials]. We are the only country outside of China that is going to do that at this time."
He said that, unfortunately, as of now, 22 countries have no vaccines with which to fight the pandemic. In addition, 99 countries have not yet vaccinated even 10% of their population, unlike Mexico, which has administered at least one dose of the vaccine to a higher percentage of people than India, Australia or Russia. Therefore, he reiterated that "Mexico's priority, in addition to its supply strategy, is to correct this, denounce this, and promote other circumstances."
He mentioned that Mexico is finalizing the details with Russia in order to be able to administer the Sputnik Light vaccine in Mexico, in an effort to ensure broader coverage of the Mexican population. He said that Cofepris and the health authorities would decide whether or not to approve it in the coming days.
Lastly, the Secretary gave an update on the next shipments of vaccines arriving in Mexico. Between today and May 17, Mexico should receive or fill-finish 2,352,605 doses of COVID-19 vaccines: from Pfizer, 585,000 doses today, May 11; 250,380 on May 12; and 585,000 on May 13. By May 15, there should be 397,225 doses of the CanSino vaccine fill-finished and ready to distribute in Mexico, in addition to 35,000 doses that will arrive from China. On Saturday, 500,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine and enough antigen for 290,000 doses of the CanSinoBio vaccine will arrive.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducts a foreign policy that prioritizes the health of the Mexican people, and it reaffirms its commitment to contributing to universal, timely and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
