Mexico’s regulatory agency approved emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, shortly after Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell announced Tuesday the country’s plan to combat the novel coronavirus would involve use of the vaccine. The Associated Press reports Mexico is launching its vaccination program as its capital, Mexico City, is struggling to accommodate a growing number of coronavirus patients and provide adequate oxygen to hospitals. Meantime, Lopez-Gattel said the first batches of the 7.4 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine will arrive this month through April. The Sputnik V vaccine’s credibility was elevated Tuesday after late-stage clinical trial results published in The Lancet international medical journal revealed it was 91.6% effective in preventing people from developing COVID-19. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about purchasing 24 million doses of the vaccine. Argentina joins Mexico in ramping up its efforts to secure an ample supply of the Sputnik V vaccine. Lopez Gatell said on Monday Mexico would receive between 1.6 million to 2.75 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX global vaccine sharing program this month. Mexico has one of the highest coronavirus tallies in Latin America with about 159,100 confirmed deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center.
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