Mexico secures deal to get COVID-19 vaccine

SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico

Mexico’s Health Minister Jorge Alcocer Varela signed an agreement Wednesday between the government and the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to produce and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

This deal secured 34.4 million doses of the vaccine that has a reported 95% effectiveness rate.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter that Mexico is set to begin its first vaccination round this month.

“Many assume to be impossible is now a reality: vaccination is about to start in December 2020," he wrote.

The plan is to get as many as 250,000 doses in December. This first round will be destined to the first line of defense among medical staff dealing with COVID-19 patients and at-risk populations.

Tuesday, an official vaccination plan will be announced, detailing where the vaccines will be allocated and the process of refrigeration and transportation, according to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

"I'm very conscious about it, and I've already said it, my main concern is Covid-19. In second place is the economy. But in the first place is Covid. We are going to produce this vaccine because it works," he said

The pandemic has an estimated 1,300,128 cases in Mexico and 122,691 deaths, according to figures from the Epidemiology Department of Mexico.