New Mexican Strategies for COVID-19 Testing, Vaccines

This week, the Mexican government announced that shopping malls and pharmacies would be applying up to 40 free COVID-19 tests a day, while self-service stores will be offering a special price for further tests.

There was a time in 2020 when getting a COVID-19 test was very difficult. This seems to no longer be the case. According to a Forbes article, in an official Mexican government release, tests will now be available for free at shopping malls and pharmacies. These tests will be delivered by the government so buying them will not be an issue for company owners. Some of the pharmacies that agreed to be part of this initiative are Farmacias Benavides, Farmacias del Ahorro, Farmacias Guadalajara and Farmacias YZA.

COVID-19 has been harsh on the retail sector given that not everyone was prepared to move to an online platform. At the same time, not all businesses were built for the online world, like restaurants and bars. As previously mentioned in an MBN article, more companies have been seeking to open their stores while agreeing to strict regulations to keep infections at a minimum. Making COVID-19 tests more accessible at shopping centers could help the Mexican economy to reactivate faster. 

While this might be the case, Mexico still requires digitization and automation to boost vaccination, according to Forbes. Having more tests available solves one side of the problem, but developing a plan that is supported by technology to manage the vaccines that are arriving in Mexico every couple of days could make a difference in the results of the vaccination program. “There is now a very important challenge, which is how to help the world to manage, distribute, administer, monitor and above all control the logistics, coordination and delivery of these vaccines,” said Mauricio García-Cepeda, General Director of ServiceNow Mexico and Latin America, to Forbes. “We took on the task of creating these vaccine management and administration applications to be able to quickly and digitally help government entities that are currently in charge of all this, as well as companies to ensure that once the purchase of vaccines is cleared, they are ready for distribution.” 

A previous MBN article mentioned that the Mexican logistics sector was preparing for vaccine distribution. Part of the plan involved receiving help from COPARMEX and leaning on pharmacies where medical products are delivered daily. However, there was no mention of taking advantage of technology during this process, meaning there could be an opportunity to make vaccination efforts more efficient.