Health negotiates with Moderna and Pfizer the purchase of 11 million vaccines against covid-19

Ángeles Cruz Martínez

La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, October 20, 2025, p. 6

Covid-19 cases have decreased significantly in Mexico. In the 2024-2025 winter season, when the Cuban Abdala vaccine was applied in the public sector, the number of patients decreased by 30 percent, while deaths decreased by 62 percent, compared to the previous period (2023-2024).

For this year, the Ministry of Health (Ssa) decided to look for the best updates to the biological. With this objective, David Kershenobich, head of the agency, led the negotiations with the Pfizer and Moderna laboratories.

Both companies manufacture the vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, with the messenger RNA platform, and as a result of the negotiations, they agreed to match their prices and guarantee the supply of 11 million doses, according to information from the Ssa. The measure was taken with the purpose of promoting the culture of vaccination in the country.

Homeland remains in suspense

Regarding the promised Mexican Patria vaccine for several years, data from the Ssa indicate that although the development of the biological was completed with good results to prevent serious symptoms of Covid-19 infection, the pharmaceutical laboratory Avimex has not been able to complete the procedures to obtain authorization from the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) to start manufacturing.

This situation reinforced Secretary Kershenobich’s intention to begin dialogue with transnational pharmaceutical companies and ensure timely supply for this winter season.

The purpose is to strengthen awareness about the importance of vaccination in the country, as well as regain leadership in the region and the world with high protection coverage against preventable diseases with the biologicals available.

In the case of covid-19, it was the cause of the pandemic that was in force from 2020 to 2023, and although the impact has decreased, the population groups with the highest risk of presenting a serious condition of the infection are children under 14 years of age and adults over 65.

According to information from the General Directorate of Epidemiology, during this year, the majority of them have required hospitalization, unlike a large part of people between 20 and 59 years old, who have only needed outpatient management.

Hence the importance of the vaccine, which is beginning to be available in medical units of different institutions in the health sector, just like the influenza vaccine.