Mexico is betting heavily on the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to inoculate the majority of its elderly population against Covid-19 by the end of April, despite concerns about its efficacy and safety.
Even though Mexican regulators have yet to approve the vaccine, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he had spoken personally with his Russian counterpart, Vladamir Putin, to conclude a deal to ship 24 million doses to Mexico over the next two months.
The first batch of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine – about 200,000 doses – could arrive in Mexico as early as next week, federal health offices said.
Not everyone is so enthusiastic. Party Action National (PAN) Senator Lilly Tellez said it is worrying that the international scientific community appears skeptical of the Russian vaccine, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) has given no indication when it will give its approval. Tellez accused Lopez Obrador of opting for the Russian vaccine mainly because it is “cheap.”
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