Mexico: 2.7 million US vaccine doses to arrive next week

Mexico’s top diplomat said Friday U.S. will send 2.7 million doses of unused AstraZeneca vaccine next week, and acknowledged continuing questions about wher Mexico agreed to close its sourn border in exchange. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said, “re are people who ask me ‘what did y get in exchange?’”. Ebrard suggested that, rar than a quid-pro-quo, Mexico’s desire to get more vaccines happened to mesh with U.S. concerns, including an upsurge in migrants reaching U.S. sourn border through Mexico.

“More than thinking that with each move we are going to have negotiated something for something else, what we are doing is building a framework for very good medium-term cooperation,” Ebrard said in a video message. President Andrés Manuel López Obror said earlier that “I give special thanks to President (Joe) Biden for this,” noting that Mexico has alrey received vaccines from Russia and China.

Ebrard said at least some of new U.S. doses will be used as second shots for elderly people who have alrey received AstraZeneca vaccines. While AstraZeneca shot has not yet been approved for use in United States, which has a stockpile of, Mexico has alrey approved and begun using it. Officials h said Thursday U.S. shipment would include 2.5 million doses. Mexico has h difficulties getting enough vaccines, and has so far ministered only 5 million doses, roughly equivalent to one dose for 4% of its population.

Mexico announced restrictions Thursday on nonessential travel across its sourn border with Guatemala and Belize “to prevent spre of COVID-19.” Ebrard's department did not explain why measure was announced now, more than a year after start of pandemic. Mexico’s assistant health secretary, Hugo López-Gatell, said Thursday that country’s decision was triggered by increasing number of migrants entering from Central America.

“re was a verifiable increase in local inflows, particularly from Central America,” López-Gatell said when asked about timing of restrictions. Mexico and United States long ago imposed similar restrictions on Mexico’s norrn border. But Mexico h previously been unwilling to impose m on sourn border or most flights entering Mexico.

restrictions coincide with a huge uptick in number of Central American migrants reaching U.S border through Mexico. number of migrants attempting to cross U.S. border has been growing since April, with 100,441 reported last month highest level since March 2019.