Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) Wednesday informed that his country will receive the first doses of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine made by the United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca company and the Oxford University.
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On Tuesday, the U.K. approved Mexico and Argentina to use the vaccine to immunize their people. Four months ago, British authorities also allowed both countries to produce the drug and distribute it in Latin America.
"We will have enough doses for everyone," AMLO assured, recalling that his administration made a pre-purchase of 77.4 million shots.
Oxford-AstraZeneca drug is the second to enter the Mexican vaccination program, after the U.S. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
On Dec. 24, Mexico's vaccination campaign started with a few doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug. The vaccine is being administered only to health workers who attend COVID-19 patients in Mexico City, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon States.
By the end of January, the government expects to have vaccinated 700,000 health care workers. In February, free and gradual vaccination will begin for the rest of Mexico's 130 million inhabitants.
To conclude the program, AMLO government also plans to gain 34.4 million vaccines from the U.S. Pfizer and 35 million from the Chinese CanSino.