Members of Mexico’s National Action Governors Association. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

Mexico’s National Action Governors Association (GOAN), which is made up of National Action Party (PAN) governors from the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas, Quintana Roo, Durango, Yucatán, Querétaro and Sonora, announced its intention to contract 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which would arrive in periods from April to December of this year.

Querétaro Governor Francisco Domínguez said the vaccines would be acquired as part of the macro contract Mexico’s federal government has with Pfizer, and would require the sign off from the Federal Secretariat of Public Health (SSA) to consolidate the purchase.

“Pfizer has a provision where we can add ourselves to the macro contract of the Federal government,” said Domínguez. “Between the governors who can and want to join the purchase stock of 20 million vaccines, there will be provisions for all.”

Mexico’s government previously said it would allow private companies and state governments to obtain the covid vaccine, following approval for the SSA, meaning GOAN’s request should be signed off on, though so far, nothing has progressed.

Domínguez said the National Conference of Governors (Conago) met with Mexico’s federal cabinet to discuss the initiative on Thursday, Feb. 18, with Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero and Undersecretary of Public Health Hugo López-Gatell, who announced his diagnosis of coronavirus over the weekend, but the talks did not come to any conclusions.

“We are going to continue insisting because what we want is to help immunize all our entities faster,” said the Querétaro governor. “This is not about politics, we are not going to make electoral use of the vaccine. We want to help the federal government immunize our populations very quickly in our states.”

Mexico’s vaccination plan has had a controversially slow start, with less than 2 million doses administered so far. According to figures from Reuter’s, if Mexico stays on pace, it will take 424 days for the country to administer vaccines to 10 percent of the population, something which GOAN seems intent to change.

“Pfizer said it could deliver us a million and a half vaccines in April, 7 million vaccines in June and the rest between July and December,” said Domínguez. “But nevertheless, we need the signature of the SSA to proceed.”

…Feb. 22, 2021