Over 46 Percent of Children Have Been Vaccinated Against COVID-19
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Over 46 Percent of Children Have Been Vaccinated Against COVID-19

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Rodrigo Andrade By Rodrigo Andrade | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Fri, 09/09/2022 - 16:46

Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell informed that the country recently purchased 9 million doses of Abdala, Cuba’s COVID-19 vaccine,  which will be applied to children between five and 11 years old. The vaccination of children was first announced in January 2022 and over 46 percent of the children between those ages have been immunized to date, all of them with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to the Minister of Health.

“We have already signed a contract with the Cuban government and its biotechnology company to buy 9 million doses of the Abdala vaccine,” said López-Gatell, during Tuesday's morning press conference. The Abdala vaccine has a three-dose schedule, so this shipment will be used to fully immunize 3 million kids. 

The first shipment of the Abdala vaccine will arrive on Sep. 8 or 9 and the final one between Sep. 26 and 30. The Ministry expects a surplus of 1.1 million doses that will be used to complete children’s vaccination schemes, added López-Gatell as reported by Forbes. “We are always considering vaccinating everyone who is eligible based on demographic or health conditions,” said López-Gatell.

The Confederation of Industrial Chambers of the United Mexican States (CONCAMIN) publicly criticized the decision to buy the Cuban vaccine, as it considers its quality to be poor. “We express the importance of guaranteeing that our children in Mexico receive [vaccines of] the same quality, safety and efficacy that the Mexican government has previously offered us,” said the organization. 

Today, the Mexican government received the second shipment of COVID-19 pediatric vaccines from the Global Access Fund for Vaccines against COVID-19 (COVAX). It contains 171,200 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Mexico received the first shipment with 1.2 million doses yesterday. 

These shipments were delivered after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that his administration would take legal actions against COVAX due to its failure to deliver the previously purchased vaccines. “We will file a complaint because they have not delivered vaccines to us from the agency that was created at the UN, COVAX. They owe us US$75 million,” said López Obrador, as reported by MBN. The vaccines that were sent by COVAX are part of Pfizer’s 10-million-shots program and will arrive throughout September.

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