By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) announced Monday, May 9, that he had signed an agreement with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel the day before in Havana to import Cuban medications — including infant vaccines against the covid-19 virus — and to hire 800 Cuban doctors.

During his daily press conference at the National Palace, one day after a state visit to Cuba, López Obrador said he had agreed to purchase the vaccines produced on the island specifically for young children.

“We are going to acquire a vaccine that Cuba is producing for very young children, which has given them very good results,” the president announced as part of a series of health agreements reached with Díaz-Canel.

The vaccines, which have not been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), will be applied to children age 2 and older to begin with, said the president.

He said that he would give further details of the matter on Tuesday, May 10.

López Obrador also said that, if necessary, the Cuban vaccine would be administered along with other vaccines, such as Pfizer, which has been approved by the WHO.

“We are working on it,” he said, “but children will be vaccinated, the smallest ones.”

The bilateral agreements with Cuba also included scholarships for Mexicans to study medicine in Cuba, as well as the hiring of more than 500 Cuban doctors to be able to meet the objectives of the president’s new health plan.