Latin America received its first shipment of officially approved COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, as Mexico’s foreign secretary called the arrival “the beginning of the end of that pandemic.”
The vaccine was brought by a DHL flight to Mexico City International Airport. Crews began unloading batches of the same Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that was first given to Americans last week, the Associated Press reported.
Officials did not disclose how many lots were part of the relatively small shipment to be used to test vaccine logistics procedures once Mexico and other Latin American countries begin to receive larger quantities.
Health workers in Mexico City and northern Saltillo will begin receiving vaccines on Thursday.
Mexico expects to receive 1.4 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of January.
Argentina on Wednesday announced the approval of two additional vaccines for imminent use, one from Russia and one that does not have a distribution agreement.
The Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been approved as a matter of urgency and is scheduled to arrive in Argentina with a batch of 300,000 doses, although the vaccine is considered “a safe and effective therapeutic tool.”
The Sputnik V vaccine has faced some criticism in Russia for its hasty approval procedure.
The Pfizer vaccine has also been approved by health officials in Argentina, although the government has not yet reached an agreement to start obtaining the batches.
In addition, other Latin American countries are expected to receive deliveries of Pfizer vaccine this week as Brazil began receiving deliveries from other manufacturers.