Mexico to ask US to send 3.5 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday said Mexico will be asking the U.S. for around 3.5 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines as the country deals with a third surge in coronavirus cases.

According to The Associated Press, López Obrador said he planned on discussing the vaccine request with Vice President Harris during a call scheduled later Monday.

Mexico is currently reporting over 20,000 new COVID-19 cases a day.

According to the Mexican president, the U.S. had offered Mexico the Moderna vaccine, but Mexican officials were unable to get the needed approvals in time so they are now considering the Pfizer vaccine.

The AP notes that the U.S. donated over 1.3 million Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses to Mexico in June. The U.S. has so far donated over 4 million vaccine doses to Mexico overall.

On Sunday it was reported that López Obrador would be discussing the COVID-19 pandemic with Harris during their scheduled call and it was suggested that he would bring up a request for more vaccines.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Mexico has reported nearly 3 million COVID-19 cases and more than 244,000 related deaths. Nearly 70 million vaccine doses have been administered. More than 20 percent of Mexico’s population is fully vaccinated.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.