Mexico has received 2.7 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19
vaccine from the United States, but has not made progress on
accessing larger U.S. stocks, deputy foreign minister for
multilateral affairs Martha Delgado said in an interview with
Reuters late last week.
"We are once again taking up dialogue to insist on this need," she
said, ahead of an upcoming visit by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard
to the United States.
Mexico may also put forward a proposal to prioritize vaccination
along its border with the United States, Delgado said, describing
the issue as important and a concern in Mexico.
The proximity and human ties between populous towns and cities along
the border means it is easy for the coronavirus to reinfect both
sides.
The U.S.-Mexico border region, which stretches 3,175 km (1,973
miles), is home to at least 14.6 million people, according to
government data from 2018.
Tens of thousands of Central Americans have trekked to the U.S.
border in recent months, in a growing humanitarian challenge for
U.S. President Joe Biden. Delgado did not specify whether a new
proposal for vaccines in the border area would include migrants.
The supply of vaccines has become a global diplomatic tussle.
Mexico government officials on Friday declared the doses of
AstraZeneca's vaccine shipped from the United States safe and
approved by two health regulators after operations were halted at
the U.S. plant that produced them due to contamination.
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Following Delgado's interview
with Reuters, a representative for her declined
to comment on whether the issue could impact
future vaccine agreements with the United
States.
Ebrard will also make trips to Russia, China and
India, as part of efforts to ensure supply
agreements are honored.
Part of his agenda in the United States will be
devoted to vaccines, including "scientific
exchange," Delgado said. Mexico
has so far received more than 21 million shots, primarily from
Pfizer, AstraZeneca, China's Sinovac and Cansino and Russia's
Sputnik V.
But supply delays and shortages have hampered the campaign to
vaccinate its population of 126 million.
The country has relied on deals with China and Russia amid gaps by
Western suppliers and slow shipments through global COVAX facility
mechanism, led by the GAVI vaccines alliance and the World Health
Organization to promote equitable access.
Mexico was considering hosting Phase III trials for an additional
Chinese vaccine, Delgado said. She declined to say which one.
(Reporting by Adriana Barrera and Cassandra Garrison; Editing by
Frank Jack Daniel and Karishma Singh)
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