Vaccines Supported by Scientific Data, Political Acts

President López Obrador received the AstraZeneca vaccine to promote trust and confidence in that specific shot after general concerns surged. Mexico City starts to show recovery signs, while this encourages the government to begin vaccination on educational staff.

Here is the Week in Health!

Women’s Health Rights

The Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved on Thursday the Dignified Menstruation Law that promotes free access to menstrual products at the country's schools.

Vaccination Efforts; Dose Theft

-President López Obrador shared that 14 municipalities in Mexico decided by assembly not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As part of the efforts from the federal government to convince the municipalities to accept the vaccine, the president received publicly the first dose of the AstraZeneca development.

-As part of the COVAX mechanism, Mexico received its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment with 75,000 doses from AstraZeneca. In total, the country is to receive 51.6 million doses from COVAX.

-COFEPRIS announced the approval of the Indian vaccine against COVID-19 called Covaxin. Clinical trials for this development showed that it is 70-78 percent effective on symptomatic cases.

-MBN reported that Chiapas, Coahuila, Nayarit, Veracruz and Tamaulipas began their COVID-19 vaccination campaign for teachers and educational staff. In total, the government destined 529,989 doses to these states. Real our full article on the vaccination campaign for educational staff.

-Pfizer detected fake COVID-19 vaccine sales in Nuevo Leon, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Ministry of Health of the state, Manuel de la O, reported that about 80 people received fake doses.

Recovery Advances

-This week, Mexico City registered three days without excess mortality for the first time in a year, according to a report shared by the head of the Digital Agency for Public Innovation, José Meriño. The document also indicates that the average mortality excess rate was reduced in April.

-Mexico City received an UNESCO award for its inhabitants’ resilience to the pandemic and earthquakes. On Thursday, the city was recognized with the Netexplo Linking Cities 2021 Award. Governor Claudia Sheinbaum thanked UNESCO on behalf of the residents of the capital.

-IMSS resumed many services that were paused due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Care in general surgery, oncology, gynecology, ophthalmology, among others, restarted last weekend.

Value-Based Models to Access State-of-the-Art Technology

-MBN spoke with Alejandro Paolini, President of AMID, about the benefits of novel payment models such as Value-Based Healthcare. According to Paolini, this model is especially valuable as an alternative to large initial investment usually coming from the government to provide patients with a wider chance for a positive outcome. Read the full interview here.

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson

-The risk of thrombosis is almost 10 times higher from COVID-19 than from being vaccinated, according to a new study from the University of Oxford. Researchers noted that 39 out of a million patients with COVID-19 are at risk of thrombosis, while among people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, the risk is five in a million. This announcement was complemented by EMA, that said the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines outweigh the risk of developing a thrombosis.

Technology Boosts Financing, Care

-Technology and innovative health approaches create better financing options. Learn how Plan Seguro is tackling innovation and inclusive financing plans to enhance healthcare access.

-Home care has been boosted by technology and digital health platforms to professionalize remote medical practices. Learn about the benefits of home care and how the industry is moving toward this new trend.

-Connecting with stakeholders became a difficult task amid COVID-19 lockdowns. Within3 has created a communication platform that breaks down time and space barriers for health stakeholders.