Patria Clinical Trials/ Kamala Harris Will Visit Mexico

Vaccination of the elderly ends tomorrow. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador emphasized that the vaccination of people over 60 will end tomorrow. López Obrador added that the vaccination plan has been successful and that people over 50 have already received at least one dose. “We hope that by October we will have vaccinated everyone over 18 years of age. We are analyzing whether it is feasible. However, we are focusing on vaccinating the most vulnerable people. It is our responsibility and we are proud to know that we are taking care of them.”

More countries interested in participating in the Patria vaccine trials. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard announced that more countries are interested in participating in Phase 3 of the Mexican COVID-19 vaccine called Patria. “We have requests from more than seven countries that will participate in our Phase 3.” The counties interested in participating in the clinical trials of the Patria vaccine include Guatemala, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba and Ecuador. In addition, Ebrard said that following López Obrador's orders once production begins, a third will go to Latin American and Caribbean countries.

US will send Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Mexico. López Obrador thanked the US government for the 1 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines that it will send to Mexico and stressed that this act of solidarity shows the good and close relationship between both countries. “We are very grateful to the US. This is an example that we must act in solidarity and help each other.” López Obrador explained that the vaccines will be used for people from 39 border municipalities who are between 18 and 40 years old in order to increase the border activity. López Obrador stressed that the government is already negotiating the possibility of increasing the number of vaccines and if this is not possible, the government will seek to buy more.

US vice president will arrive in Mexico on Monday. Ebrard also announced that US Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Mexico on Monday and will return to the US on Thursday. During the visit, Harris will have a private meeting with López Obrador and later there will be a meeting of both delegations, where increasing US investment in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to reduce migration will be discussed. “We want to achieve a transformation of migration so that it is not for economic reasons. Migration will be the main topic of the meetings, although others will be also discussed. "

US sends a memorandum to Mexico regarding its financing of NGOs. Ebrard emphasized that the US memorandum received regarding its financing of NGOs is not a diplomatic response. Ebrard explained that the financing of the NGOs that are part of the opposition to the López Obrador’s government should be seen as foreign intervention in the internal politics of Mexico. "Mexico is one of the most open countries in the world, but if someone has the intention of influencing our politics, we will not allow it."

Yesterday, the US announced that it will continue funding NGOs, journalists and public entities to fight corruption in other countries. During the López Obrador government, the US has given US$591.5 million through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to combat national corruption.

Ebrard: OAS Secretary General has not acted as he should. Ebrard criticized the actions of the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, saying that decisions have been made without consulting member states. Regarding his accusations that Mexico does not want to allow observers during the June 6 elections, Ebrard said that, "they will not be prohibited from participating as long as they respect Mexican policy and do not interfere.

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