Mexico signs deal for Oxford's Covid-19 vaccine

PanARMENIAN.Net - A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by the Oxford University will be produced in Mexico if its advanced trials are successful and it receives regulatory approval as cases in the country surpassed half a million, Al Jazeera says.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which also provides for production in Argentina, should result in a vaccine that the government would provide free starting in the first quarter of 2021.

He said on Thursday, August 13 access to the vaccine would be "universal and free" in Mexico, which has registered nearly 55,000 coronavirus deaths - the third-highest toll in the world behind the United States and Brazil.

"In other countries, they can decide to charge or select who is vaccinated and who not, but so there isn't any doubt and to guarantee to all our people, all Mexicans are going to have access to the vaccine," Lopez Obrador said at a news conference.

Production of the vaccine in Mexico and Argentina would allow for distribution throughout Latin America, except for Brazil, which had already reached its own agreement with the drugmaker.

AstraZeneca said the agreement covers an initial production of 150 million doses for the region, with the possibility of increasing to 400 million doses. Production will be funded by the foundation of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim, once the world's richest man.