A Month Of Healthcare Prevention Awareness

In October, the world celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a disease that takes the lives of 6,000 people per year in Mexico. In the country, 23,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year, about 60 per day.

Ready for more? Here’s the Week in Health!

NATIONAL

-Sept. 28 was the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. This public healthcare matter led thousands of female protesters to Mexico’s streets to demand the national decriminalization of abortion. The fight for legal abortion seeks to offer women access to safe health services, as denying assistance leads women to clandestine, potentially deathly services.

-The Ministry of Labor and Social Security will host the first national query to discuss NOM-037, which addresses preventive occupational health risks. This national forum will gather specialists in occupational health and safety to analyze the contents of the regulation and submit new proposals.

-Today begins the national vaccination program against influenza. According to Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell, hospitals, medical facilities and public spaces will be given around 36 million doses of the vaccine. Its application will prioritize adults over 60 years of age, patients suffering from a chronic disease, pregnant women and children under five years old.

-Oct. 1 also marks the implementation of the new law on food and beverages labeling for packed industrialized goods. This process, included in Mexican NOM-051, was published on the Nation’s Official Gazette in March 2020.

-The Minister of Finance and Public Credit Arturo Herrera announced to the Chamber of Deputies that Mexico will give the first advanced payment for the COVID-19 vaccine, as was agreed under the framework of Covax. The MX$4.2 billion (US$192.4 million) will be funded by FONSABI, which is an escrow managed by INSABI.

INTERNATIONAL

-China introduced the fastest COVID-19 PCR diagnostic test to date, which delivers results in 30 minutes and notifies the person through a phone message. This test, called Flash 20, uses a sample taken from the patient’s respiratory tract that is placed on a device that can analyze four samples at the same time.

-Europe has been registering “second waves” of COVID-19 outbreaks. Spain is topping the list with the largest number of new cases after their reopening led to deaths and many criticisms of its pandemic management. France and the Czech Republic are also reporting rising death numbers.

-Clinical trials on the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine begin Phase 3 trials, which include testing on 5,000 Mexican volunteers. COFEPRIS is currently waiting for the results of Phase 1 and 2 to begin the trials in Mexico.