Mexico City, Mexico — In May, Mexico will produce the Sputnik V vaccine locally, said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. The Minister, who is in Moscow, made the announcement Wednesday saying that in May, the country is intending to produce the Russian vaccine for Mexican use.
“Sputnik V is saving Mexican lives and shows great results in safety and efficacy,” he said. On Sunday, Ebrard traveled to Moscow to discuss the Mexican government’s plans to produce the Sputnik vaccine. The talks came after vaccine shipment delays.
He says that the vaccines would be produced through the Mexican state company Laboratorios de Biológicos y Reactivos de México (Birmex).
The production of the Russian vaccines in Mexico could begin in May, confirmed the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the vaccine abroad. Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister said that for now, shipments to Mexico “will continue without problems” and according to the contract.
Foreign Secretary Ebrard, whose government seeks to accelerate the pace of vaccinations against Covid-19, said that around a million people in Mexico have received doses of Sputnik V to date.
The Mexican Ministry of Health said in late February that it expected to receive 7.4 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine in April and an additional batch of 16.6 million doses in May. Mexico has signed agreements to acquire a total of 24 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19.