Argentina and Mexico, partners in a coronavirus vaccine

Argentina and Mexico partnered with the Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca for the production and distribution of an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus. Argentina will manufacture the vaccine, while Mexico will take care of packaging and "equitable" distribution throughout the region, except Brazil, Argentine President Alberto Fernández announced on Wednesday at a press conference.

The goal is "to produce between 150 and 250 million vaccines for all of Latin America by the first half of 2021," said the Argentine president. The vaccine in question is developed by the University of Oxford and is one of nearly twenty initiatives that are in various stages of human trials around the world.

In late July, AstraZeneca said it was willing to produce 2 billion doses of the vaccine at a low price per dose. Manufacturing costs are expected to be offset through government and private funding. The agreement with Mexico and Argentina will be financed by the foundation of the Mexican magnate Carlos Slim. Fernández estimated that the vaccine will have a value of between three and four dollars, which "is very significant for Latin America because it allows all countries to access it."