Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico says it will ask the G-20 for the WHO to accelerate the approval of vaccines against Covid-19. Foreign Minister Ebrard acknowledged that the process is a matter for experts, but questioned the delays on the part of the international organization.
The Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard, reported that Mexico will ask the G-20 group for the World Health Organization (WHO) to accelerate the authorization for the emergency use of vaccines that are not yet on its list, such as Sputnik V from Russia and CanSino from China.
Ebrard clarified that Mexico does not have any conflict with the WHO, but said that while the federal government understands that there are process technicians to approve vaccines, “each passing day is a disadvantage for other people, millions of them around the world”, so they will ask that the process be completed “as quickly as possible”.
Ebrard said that both the Sputnik V and CanSino vaccines have been approved for emergency use in more than 80 countries. Come November 8, when the U.S. reopens its land border and implements its vaccinated traveler scheme, millions vaccinated with those vaccines will be affected.
For this reason, Ebrard stressed that “they should finish their technical processes as soon as possible.”
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reiterated his call to the World Health Organization to approve the vaccines that it has not authorized. Jorge Alcocer, Secretary of Health and Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, have already prepared a letter that will be sent to make the formal request.
Earlier this month, the U.S. announced that they will reopen its land border with Mexico, but would only allow people who have been inoculated with vaccines authorized by the WHO, leaving aside two injections widely used in Mexico, Sputnik V and CanSino.
Millions of Mexicans and thousands of Americans living in Mexico have received these two vaccine types, neither of which, has been approved by the WHO.
