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(Adds quotes, details of vaccine deals, background)
By Anthony Esposito and Adriana Barrera
MEXICO CITY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Mexico can see an end to the
coronavirus pandemic on the horizon with the first doses of
Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine scheduled to arrive in
weeks, said a top official in charge of the country's
international response to the health crisis.
Martha Delgado, a deputy foreign minister tasked with
helping to secure vaccine supplies for Mexico, said Pfizer had
agreed to deliver doses to the different points of vaccination
across the country rather than to a central distribution center.
That will significantly reduce a potential logistical
nightmare for Mexico, which does not have the super-cold storage
facilities needed to distribute the shots.
Pfizer's vaccine is based on a novel technology that uses
synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) to activate the immune system
against the virus and needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees
Celsius (-94 F) or below.
"The super-freezing cold chain this particular vaccine
requires would be handled by the company until the point of
delivery," Delgado told Reuters in an interview late on
Thursday.
Mexico has inked an agreement with Pfizer to acquire 34.4
million doses of its two-shot vaccine, and the first 250,000
shots are expected to arrive this month, with deliveries
possibly continuing until December of 2021. The government has
said it will prioritize vaccinating health workers.
The prospect of vaccine delivery is the "beginning of the
end" of the pandemic, said Delgado.
Pfizer submitted details about its vaccine to Mexico's
health regulator, Cofepris, last month and is awaiting approval.
The agreement is for 250,000 doses to be shipped in December
once the vaccine is approved. After those shots reach their
destination, the delivery of the second doses is triggered three
weeks later, Delgado said.
The government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has
also signed a pre-purchase agreement for the vaccine developed
by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University. Mexico expects
enough doses to be delivered between March and August to
inoculate 38.7 million people.
But a hiccup in that vaccine's late-stage clinical trial in
which some volunteers received a half dose followed by a full
dose, instead of two full doses, could delay delivery, said
Delgado.
The half-dose first pattern was found to be 90% effective in
preventing illness, versus a 62% success rate with the two full
dose regimen, according to interim data.
"Once we have the results of the study confirming (the new
data), I think they'll also tell us if we have a week, two, or I
don't know how many of delay in delivery," Delgado said.
Mexico also has a pre-purchase agreement to supply doses for
35 million people with a vaccine from China's CanSino Biologics
Inc, which is conducting large-scale trials at 19 test
centers in the country.
Delgado said CanSino's trial in Mexico has enrolled some
15,000 participants out of a 40,000-volunteer global program,
and delivery could happen from early next year through Sept.
2021.
Mexico had said first deliveries could happen in December.
"Over a third of CanSino's global clinical trial is
happening here in Mexico. So this is very relevant; it also
demonstrates technical confidence," said Delgado, adding that
the Chinese firm has invested over $280 million in Mexico.
Additionally, Mexico has secured enough vaccines to cover
20% of its population through the global COVAX facility
mechanism, led by the GAVI vaccines alliance and the World
Health Organization to promote equitable access.
Mexico has a population of over 120 million and the virus
has killed more than 108,000 people. Infections are around peak
levels, so hopes are riding high on the vaccines.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel," Delgado said.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Adriana Barrera; Editing by
Frank Jack Daniel and Bill Berkrot)
