Yucatán Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal says individual states should be able to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
Vila Dosal expressed a willingness to work with federal authorities, but said that his government was very interested in purchasing vaccines directly from Pfizer.
The purchase of vaccines by Yucatán would be mediated through Mexico’s secretary of the interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero.
The governors of both Yucatán and Sonora are scheduled to meet this week with federal authorities to iron out rules to facilitate this new deal.
Earlier: COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Yucatán extends to five new communities
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in January that the federal government had authorized the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines by the private sector. However, as of yet, no private company in Mexico has been able to acquire coronavirus vaccines.
Vila Dosal announced Thursday that Yucatán is expecting to receive 46,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days.
The federal government announced last Monday that it has purchased another 22 million doses from China, by far its largest order to date. The purchase includes 10 million Sinovac vaccines as well as 12 million doses of the new Sinopharm vaccine.
Vaccinations in Yucatán continue at a steady but slower-than-expected pace and are being administered exclusively to people 60 and older in communities outside Mérida, and to medical professionals.
