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(CNN) – Mexico is unhappy with the way coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out around the world, saying the process favors richer countries and leaves poorer countries behind.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters on Tuesday that the Mexican delegation to the United Nations will file a complaint with the UN Security Council tomorrow about “inequality” and “inequity” that, according to him, impede access to vaccines. .
“The countries that produce [vaccines] We have higher vaccination rates and Latin America and the Caribbean have much lower, “said Ebrard.” We are going to raise it in the Security Council because it is not fair, “he concluded.
Mexico has struggled with the launch of its vaccine, and has so far only managed to administer about 750,000 doses of vaccines, despite having signed purchase agreements for the eventual delivery of more than 230 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines.
With supplies scarce, the Mexican government’s concern about whether some countries are hoarding vaccines is shared by many around the world.
Richer countries like the United States, Israel, China, and the United Kingdom are at or near the top of the list in terms of the number of vaccines administered so far, while many poorer countries have yet to offer just one. dose.
“While vaccines bring hope to some, they become another brick in the wall of inequality between the haves and the have-nots,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in January.
“Even when they speak the language of equal access, some countries and companies continue to prioritize bilateral agreements … pushing prices up and trying to jump to the front of the queue. This is wrong,” he said.
WHO officials are concerned that such behavior could jeopardize their fair distribution facility, called COVAX. COVAX aims to distribute around 2 billion doses of the vaccine worldwide by the end of this year, many of which would go to poorer countries.
Mexico’s complaint at Wednesday’s UN Security Council meeting will focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, a poor part of the world particularly devastated by the pandemic.
COVAX distribution has yet to begin, although it announced plans earlier this month to distribute more than 35 million doses of vaccines throughout the region by the end of the second quarter, with the possibility of more if supplies were available.
But that’s a drop in the bucket for the 500 million people in the region who, according to the Pan American Health Organization, need to be immunized to control the pandemic.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “‘It’s not fair.’ Mexico will file a complaint with the UN for unequal distribution of vaccines”
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