Cancun, Q.R. — The Cancun Hotel Association has made contact with two labs in a bid to purchase vaccines for their tourist service providers. The association has made contact with both AztraSeneca in Mexico and Pfizer in the U.S. in hopes of being able to make the purchase by September.
“We made contact with two laboratories, one in the United States and the other here in Mexico, to acquire the vaccines for the private sector. This would mean the personnel who have direct contact with visitors are shielded,” they said.
The hotel sector is preparing to purchase half-a-million doses at a cost of just under 800 pesos for each one. They are hoping to be able to have it completed before September.
“The production of vaccines is what slows down the process of obtaining them, however, they could be ready for this year,” they added.
The association said that AstraZeneca was the most promising laboratory for having the vaccines by September. With the initial purchase of 500,000 doses, 250,000 tourist service providers would be protected, each receiving the necessary two doses of the vaccine.
According to the state Secretary of Tourism, more than 450,000 people work in the tourism industry in the state of Quintana Roo. Last week, the Cancun Hotel Association said they were considering a strategy to help deal with the pandemic. Part of that strategy, was the vaccination of its tourist service providers.