Mexico’s health regulatory commission has granted emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, and leaders have expressed hope that the U.S. will share some of its Johnson & Johnson supply.
With five COVID-19 vaccines already in use in Mexico, the country has now approved emergency use of the single-dose shot from Johnson & Johnson.
“In the case of the Janssen, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it gives us some additional advantages,” said Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell. “This vaccine is authorized and in use in the United States and some explorations have been make in respect to help or collaboration the could come from the U.S. government, that have been the topic of conservations between President (Andrés Manuel) López Obrador and Vice President Kamala Harris, that could include the possibility that support would be with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.”
He added that the country is not currently working to acquire Johnson & Johnson vaccines on its own.
As of Thursday, more than 27 million vaccine doses had been administered in Mexico, where more than 12 million are now fully vaccinated. By comparison, there have been more than 292 million vaccine doses given in the United States, and nearly 134 million people fully vaccinated.