Call With Kamala Harris/ US to Donate More COVID-19 Vaccines

Government transition in Chihuahua. Outgoing Gov. of Chihuahua Javier Corral said he was satisfied with the improvements that his government has achieved in Chihuahua and stressed that he will continue to contribute to the development of the country. “We are a few weeks away from the transition to a new administration but as a citizen, I will continue to be very aware of what is happening in my state and in my country to help transform Mexico. I am very happy with what we achieved.”

Corral is a politician from the National Action Party (PAN), who became governor of Chihuahua in 2016. Following the June 6 elections, Maru Campos Galván, the PAN-PRD candidate, became governor-elect. Campos will take office on Nov. 1, 2021 for a six-year term.

Vaccination campaign in Chihuahua. Corral applauded the federal and state efforts to carry out COVID-19 vaccinations in Chihuahua and highlighted that around 76 percent of the population is already vaccinated. "I want to acknowledge the great effort made by the Ministry of Public Security and Citizen Protection, since more than half a million people were vaccinated in Ciudad Juarez in a period of one week." In addition, Minister of Security Rosa Icela said that 85.7 percent of the population of the six border municipalities that are part of the special vaccination plan on the US-Mexico border have already received a dose of Pfizer. Icela added that the administration of the second Pfizer dose will begin on Aug. 25 in these border municipalities.

Since the start of the pandemic, Chihuahua has accumulated a total of 60,992 people infected by COVID-19 and 7,676 deaths.

Crimes of femicide, rape and vehicle theft on the rise in Chihuahua. Minister of National Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced that there has been a reduction in high-impact crimes in Chihuahua; however, the crimes of femicide, rape and vehicle theft have followed an upward trend. “Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua concentrate the greatest presence of criminal acts, leading the rates for these crimes. As a result, we are concentrating our efforts on these cities."

In intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, Chihuahua ranks third with 150.78, while the national average is 63.81. Regarding femicides, the state ranks sixth with a total of 22 femicides registered so far this year. Five cases were reported in June, four cases in May and three in April. Regarding rape, in June, 104 cases were registered when in previous months it had been between 88 and 94. As for vehicle theft in the state, from July 6 to Aug. 6 there were 451 cases.

Call with US vice president. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that migration, the reopening of the Mexico-US border and the shipment of more COVID-19 vaccines to Mexico will be the main topics discussed during his call with US Vice President Kamala Harris. "We are going to give continuity to our cooperation agenda and above all, we will discuss the donation of more COVID-19 vaccines to our country."

Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the country, López Obrador highlighted that one of the priorities of the call will be to discuss the US commitment to donate 1.35 million Jansen vaccines to Mexico. Previously, the US donated 3.5 million vaccines to Mexico, which were mainly used for the special vaccination program in border states.

US offered to donate Moderna vaccines. López Obrador said that previously the US had offered to donate 3.5 billion Moderna vaccines; however, the vaccine has not been approved in the country. “They offered us the Moderna vaccine but we proposed that any other pharmaceutical vaccine was better. We look forward to hearing more about this proposal today. "

In July, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard announced that the Moderna vaccine would be approved in Mexico very soon. The government has explained that the delay in its approval is not due to the government or COFEPRIS but to the pharmaceutical company, which has not provided the necessary documentation to continue with its approval process.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish