- Secretary Ebrard: “This is solidarity. It is what Mexico and Argentina have been demanding of the world, that there be equity, and access, and true solidarity between nations.”
- The Liomont plant will supply Mexico and Argentina, in addition to the Latin American countries that have contracts with AstraZeneca.
- Mexico is one of the top ten countries in terms of access to and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and is one of the first five countries to make its contracts public.
At this morning's press conference, led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which included a telephone link with Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard gave an update on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine produced jointly by Mexico and Argentina would be available this week. The first batches will be released this weekend, as soon as they are approved by AstraZeneca in London.
The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by Argentina's Health Minister Carla Vizzotti, and presidential advisor Cecilia Nicolini. He explained that the process by which the vaccine was authorized and manufactured in Argentina, which made the active ingredient, and Mexico, where the vaccine was fill-finished, has concluded in both countries. The Liomont plant in Mexico will supply our country and Argentina, in addition to the Latin American countries that have contracts with AstraZeneca. “This weekend, Mexico will receive 800,000 doses, and Argentina, the other 800,000. Half and half, because that was what we agreed to in August 2020,” he said.
He said that this was excellent news, because it meant the region would have more access to the vaccine, thanks to the public and private sectors joining forces. It will also enable Latin America to manufacture the vaccine itself. "This is solidarity. It is what Mexico and Argentina have been demanding of the world: that there be equity, and access, and true solidarity between nations," he said, thanking the Carlos Slim Foundation, AstraZeneca, Liomont Laboratories and mAbxience for their collaboration, for joining forces and making it possible to increase production in Latin America.
Discussing the vaccines that have been received or fill-finished recently in Mexico, the Secretary said that, as of today, Mexico has received 34.2 million doses since shipments began arriving in December 2020. A total of 40 million doses will have been received by the end of May, with a total of 65 million doses received by the end of June. Mexico is ranked in the top ten, and is second in Latin America, for access to and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and is one of the first five countries to have posted its contracts online, so its citizens can see all of the operations and procedures that have enabled Mexico to acquire the vaccines.
Regarding upcoming shipments, Foreign Secretary Ebrard said that Mexico expects to receive 6,514,260 doses between May 25-31: from Pfizer, 114, 660 doses today, 585,000 on May 26 and 585,000 on May 27; and from the Covax facility, 2,229,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on May 27, and a further 3 million doses this week, of which 2.2 million will be ready-to-use doses from the United States and 800,000 that will be fill-finished in Mexico. In addition, an additional 700,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine will be arriving on a date yet to be determined.
Lastly, the Foreign Secretary reported that, in collaboration with Mexico's consulate in San Diego, local authorities and the private sector, cross-border vaccinations have begun in Tijuana and San Diego to inoculate 10,000 Mexicans who work in American companies in Baja California. He said that vaccinations began on Monday, May 24 at the San Ysidro-El Chaparral port of entry on the border between Mexico and the United States.
The Foreign Ministry reaffirms its commitment to promoting a foreign policy that ensures the health of all Mexicans and contributes to universal, timely and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Through its consular network, it also guarantees access to vaccines for our fellow citizens abroad.
