People “do not trust the Cuban Abdala vaccine,” said the Secretary of Health of the Mexican state of Coahuila, on the border with the United States, Roberto Bernal Gómez on Tuesday. Of the 99,200 doses that were delivered to them last January, only 10% have been applied. According to the official, they will return to the federal health sector about 90,000 that “expire in the month of July.”
Bernal Gómez mentioned that the Cuban biological “apparently is good, but people are not putting it on and we have it free and available.” Mexico bought last year from Government of the Island 9,000,000 Abdala vaccines without having studies of its efficacy as a reinforcement against covid-19 or the approval of the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to figures from the state Ministry of Health, until this Tuesday there were 452 active cases and two deaths due to covid-19. Since the pandemic began, there have been records of 191,014 cases, including 9,043 deaths.
Luisa, a nurse at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) clinic in Saltillo, told 14ymedio, that the Cuban vaccine is rejected because it does not have the endorsement of the WHO. “Neither migrants” want the Cuban vaccine in Mexico.
Last year, Mexico bought 9,000,000 Abdala vaccines from the Island Government without having studies of its efficacy as a reinforcement against covid-19 or the approval of the World Health Organization
The nurse said that the existence of vaccines as a reinforcement against the coronavirus was disseminated through the various media. “We were faced with the fact that the Coahuilenses arrived, but when they saw that it was the Cuban vaccine, they left.”
It was different with Pfizer. “This vaccine was applied only to children and the interest of the people led to the displacement of specific personnel for this task in each Health Jurisdiction. In 15 days 42,000 infants were vaccinated.”
Luisa hopes that what happened in the state of Guerrero will not be repeated, where in January they authorized the application of expired Pfizer vaccines on the grounds that they could be supplied up to 12 months after the indicated date. “They came out to say that there was no problem and that it should not be considered expired. These doses that expired in October 2022 were good and could be supplied in February.”
Oaxaca is another of the states in which the Cuban dose has not been well received. According to data from the Oaxaca Health Services, until last March 69,650 residents of the territory were vaccinated and another 69,650 applications were under protection.
A source confirmed to 14ymedio that the youth population is the one that “has rejected” the island’s vaccine. “The batch that was delivered in January expires next August. Surely around 35 to 40% will return.”
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