Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that his country is doing better than the United States in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, even though Mexico’s per capita death rate is probably higher and the country has vaccinated less than 1% of its population.
López Obrador said Tuesday that comparing countries is in “bad taste,” but went on to say “the most powerful nation on earth, our neighbor, did worse than us.”
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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that his country is doing better than the United States in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, even though Mexico’s per capita death rate is probably higher and the country has vaccinated less than 1% of its population.
Moreover, estimates of excess deaths in Mexico since the start of the pandemic suggest the COVID-19 toll is now well above 220,000. Mexico has administered about 1.7 million vaccine doses, while the U.S. has given 64 million shots.
But a photo circulated on social media showed a sign posted last week outside one Mexico City vaccination center stating “No Foreigners Will be Vaccinated.”
López Obrador invited Argentine President Alberto Fernández onstage at his daily morning press conference Tuesday, and the Argentine leader proposed that vaccine companies be forced to cede intellectual property rights and allow anyone to manufacture their shots.
Mexico has had over 2 million test-confirmed coronavirus cases, but the low level of testing means the real number is probably several times that amount.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez waves as he leaves the Old Town Hall with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Fernandez is on an official visit to Mexico.(AP PhotoRebecca Blackwell)
The Mexican government's “estimated” death toll from COVID-19 is now about 201,000. The United States death toll is around 500,000, but its population is 2.6 times larger.
An elderly man with a mask painted as a clown, to curb the spread of the new coronavirus waits in line for his dose of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at the Americas sports center in Ecatepec, a borough on the outskirts of Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Foto APMarco Ugarte
Moreover, estimates of excess deaths in Mexico since the start of the pandemic suggest the COVID-19 toll is now well above 220,000. Mexico has administered about 1.7 million vaccine doses, while the U.S. has given 64 million shots.
López Obrador blamed rich countries for “hoarding” vaccines, calling that “totally unfair,” and said “the U.N. has to intervene.”
López Obrador has demanded the United States vaccinate the millions of Mexicans living in the U.S. with or without legal documents; Mexico says its consulates in the United States have even been registered as vaccination centers.
An elderly woman gets her Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at the Americas sports center in Ecatepec, a borough on the outskirts of Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Foto APMarco Ugarte
But a photo circulated on social media showed a sign posted last week outside one Mexico City vaccination center stating “No Foreigners Will be Vaccinated.”
Presidential spokesman Jesús Ramírez said that was a mistake, and promised everyone over 60, foreigners and Mexicans alike, would have access to vaccines.
“That was a photo of one center, and that message was corrected,” Ramírez said.
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez attends a ceremony with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Fernandez is on a four-day official visit to Mexico. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
López Obrador invited Argentine President Alberto Fernández onstage at his daily morning press conference Tuesday, and the Argentine leader proposed that vaccine companies be forced to cede intellectual property rights and allow anyone to manufacture their shots.
“The idea is to propose at the G20 the need to declare COVID-19 vaccines as ‘global goods,’ so that they cede their intellectual property rights and all countries can freely produce them,” Fernández said.
Mexico is trying to beef up its supply of Pfizer vaccines with Russian and Chinese shots, and late Monday the country received its first shipment of 200,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccines.
An elderly man gets his Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at the Americas sports center in Ecatepec, a borough on the outskirts of Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Foto APMarco Ugarte
Mexico has had over 2 million test-confirmed coronavirus cases, but the low level of testing means the real number is probably several times that amount.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez disembarks from his car as he arrives at the Old Town Hall to meet with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Fernandez is on an official visit to Mexico.(AP PhotoRebecca Blackwell)
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez waves as he leaves the Old Town Hall with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Fernandez is on an official visit to Mexico.(AP PhotoRebecca Blackwell)