Mexico begins vaccination against Covid-19, unprecedented in Latin America
In Mexico, the Deputy Minister of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Carlos Alcocer, during the arrival of the first doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against the Covid-19 in Mexico City, on December 23, 2020. REUTERS - Edgard Garrido
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Mexico begins its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus this Thursday, December 24, becoming the first Latin American country to vaccinate its population.
The country has purchased 34 million doses of the vaccine from England's Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
The country is the fourth most damaged, and its hospitals are approaching saturation in some areas.
Publicity
Read more
With our correspondent in Mexico,
Alix Hardy
The first 3,000 doses of the vaccine were received yesterday Wednesday with great fanfare by the Foreign Affairs and Health Ministers at the foot of the plane that arrived from Belgium: “Today is the beginning of the end of the pandemic », They rejoiced.
Some 50,000 doses will follow next week to reach 1.4 million at the end of January.
A gradual implementation of this campaign which should vaccinate the entire major population of the country within a year,
starting with health
personnel and the elderly.
Army logistical assistance
Its deployment is however delicate, because it is the cold chain which guarantees the effectiveness of this vaccine: it must be maintained at -70 ° C at all times.
Mexico, which will distribute the vaccine for free through its public health system, has requested logistical help from the military to achieve this.
The vaccine
is eagerly awaited
, as the second wave of infections threatens to saturate hospitals in the capital Mexico City,
where it will be deployed as a priority
.
Mexico says it is ready for this mass vaccination campaign, but warns that the country remains dependent on Pfizer's production capacities.
Indeed, the first Mexican delivery arrived a few days late, while exponential quantities are expected in the coming months.
►To read (and listen) also
: Mexico: the capital Mexico City takes the lead and tests massively
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Coronavirus
Mexico
On the same subject
Covid-19: the price of vaccines in Europe unveiled in error by a Belgian minister
Against the coronavirus, Indonesia will prioritize the vaccination of young people
Covid-19 vaccine: BioNTech, story of an ascent