Omicron Trends Hit Mexico: The Week in Health

Deficient preventive protocols during the holidays is starting to affect the country, since higher numbers of COVID-19 cases have been registered. To cope with the negative trends, Mexican authorities have approved a new vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Here is the week in health!

Mexico approves a new COVID-19 vaccine

The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), ruled the authorization for the emergency use of Cuban developed Abdala vaccine, with the distinctive name: recombinant protein of the domain of binding to the SARS-CoV-2 virus receptor. The authorization is part of the National Health Regulation Strategy, which allows reviewing and giving access to the greatest number of health supplies, as long as the quality, safety and efficacy of the product are verified, explained COFEPRIS.

Global COVID-19 trends affect the country

COVID-19 cases have increased by 51.7 percent between December 15 and December 29, according to official government figures. Despite a global resurgence of COVID-19 cases across several countries as a result of the highly contagious Omicron variant, Mexico has yet to impose holiday celebrations’ restrictions, as a result, poor preventive measures have  been seen across de country.

Read this article to find about Mexico’s trends and predictions regarding the Omicron variant.

Medical attention allowed for infected cruise passengers

Mexico will open its ports to cruise ships that request entry and provide medical attention to reported COVID-19 cases, announced the ministries of health and tourism following an International Sanitary Ruling by the World Health Organization (WHO). The news comes a day after authorities from the state of Jalisco prevented a cruise from docking in Puerto Vallarta due to a spread of COVID-19 on board with 69 crew members testing positive to the virus. The cruise ship had taken off on Dec. 24 from Long Beach, California and had detected five cases of COVID-19 amongst its crew before embarking.

COVID-19 pill approved in the US

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Merck’s molnupiravir COVID-19 pill for high-risk adult patients, one day after approving Pfizer’s pill, reported The Washington Post. Unlike COVID-19 vaccines, which target the spike protein on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, molnupiravir targets an enzyme that the virus uses to copy itself. The pill prevents the virus from multiplying by introducing errors into its RNA. Learn more about this novel development in this article.

HIV preventive treatment approved

The FDA also approved the first injection to prevent getting HIV, the BBC reported. The drug, called cabotegravir (CAB-LA), is a pioneer of its kind because by taking just one dosage, it protects the patient for two months - unlike preventive treatments where pills that have to be taken daily.

Experts of the week

Prevention is the key to a long-term solution for Mexico´s prevalent diabetes problem, says AMD’s president Gabriela Allard. Read her full interview in this article.

The pharmaceutical industry urgently needs a better legal framework to work its tech, explains Sanfer’s CIO Fernando Gamallo. To find out more about this interesting subject, read the interview here.

2021 Roundup, 2022 Expectations

As the world heads into a new year, it is worth looking into the industry’s highlights that shaped the health sector during 2021, as well as identifying  the incoming trends for 2022. Read this analysis to find out more about the year in health.