Mexico announced that in a month it would start distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine it is producing with Argentina

Mexico announced this Wednesday that in a month start distribution of AstraZeneca vaccine doses against the coronavirus to Latin American countries that bought it, including Argentina. This was confirmed by Chancellor Marcelo Ebrard, who assured that the first shipments will be made in the third week of April.

This vaccine is being developed jointly with Argentina. In our country the active substance is produced, and in Mexico the packaging process is carried out.

According to the national immunization plan, published by the Nation’s Ministry of Health, Argentina bought over 22 million doses of this vaccine. In March the first 1,191,000 and in April, others 4,635,500. But due to production delays, deliveries have been postponed.

Foreign Minister Ebrard’s announcement coincided with a new appeal by President Andrés López Obrador to the United Nations (UN) to make “a greater effort in the delivery” of antigens by through the Covax mechanism, targeting poor countries, because so far “not sufficient”.

“So far, a large number of countries continue without a single dose against Covid-19,” the president said.

“The UN has already started delivering packages through this mechanism to countries with marginalized populations, but it is not enough. It needs to make a bigger effort. We call it that because a bigger one. percentage is marketed directly between labs, ”he said. .

The agreement to deliver vaccines to Latin America with AstraZeneca is backed by telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, whose empire spans several countries in the region.

Ebrard said that this Thursday a new shipment of the active substance will arrive to be packaged at the Liomont plant in the municipality of Ocoyoacac, in the state of Mexico, about 70 kilometers from the capital.

On January 18, the first shipment of the active substance from the Anglo-Swedish company was shipped from Argentina, which has been in the center of public attention, accused in the United States of falsifying clinical trials and in Europe that its biological causes thrombi.

However, health authorities in Europe, Great Britain and the United States, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) have given a “green light” to this vaccine and have indicated that its side effects are minimal. , compared to the great benefit they can have in humans.

The first batch of the biological active ingredient of this drug, for 5.23 liters, authorized to pack over a million doses, which were only available last week, due to the lack of some supplies such as vials and syringes.

The pharmaceutical company has agreed to produce a total of 77.4 million doses which will be distributed in Mexico and other 200 million requested by various Latin American countries. Just over 10% were hired by Argentina.

The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford’s alliance with the AstraZeneca laboratory, is manufactured at the plant of biotechnology company Mabxience in Buenos Aires, Argentina and packaged in Liomont laboratories in Mexico.

During his official visit to Mexico, President Alberto Fernández visited the Covid-19 vaccine packaging plant and checked the progress of immunizing substances.

With data from ANSA

DD