A sharp increase in Covid-19 cases has many health officials talking of a “fifth wave” in Mexico.
The federal Ministry of Health (SSA) reported 13,752 new cases on Wednesday, June 22, the highest figure since daily reports were resumed earlier this month.
The impact of new Omicron subvariants (BA.4 and BA.5) is also being felt in the United States and Europe, with health experts in some countries urging governments to bring back some restrictions.
Due to the widespread vaccination program and, perhaps, growing immunity, hospitalizations and deaths as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico are significantly lower than at the height of the pandemic. June 22, the SSA reported 27 fatalities where Covid was mentioned on death certificates, bring the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 325,487.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said if or when Mexico experiences a fifth wave, the country is in a decent position to respond to it.
On June 23 and 24, 2.4 million Pfizer BioNTech doses were scheduled for arrival in Mexico, earmarked for shots to be given children between 5 and 11. In total, eight million doses will be delivered for this segment of the population.
As a safety measure, governors in seven Mexican states have decided to end the school academic year earlier than planned.