China’s CanSino fell short in Mexican Covid-19 vaccine order: sources

Name: A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021
Uploaded: 2021-12-30T03:45:34.000Z
Duration: 3 min 35 s
Description: A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021

Mexico wanted 35 million doses by September but reduced requirement by more than half when it was clear it would not be met

Mexican government sought to increase supplies from elsewhere and will not renew contract with Chinese pharmaceutical firm

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A Covid-19 vaccination centre in Mexico. Photo: EPA-EFE

Reuters

Published: 11:45am, 30 Dec 2021

A deal with Mexico to supply 35 million Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine doses was slashed by more than half earlier this year when it became clear the order would not be met by September as agreed, according to three people familiar with the matter.

A Mexican official said on Wednesday that CanSino Biologics was informed in July that the North American country would reduce its order to roughly 14.5 million doses as it sought to ramp up supplies from other sources.

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A look back at lockdowns, vaccines and variants defining the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021

The first batch of CanSino vaccines reached Mexico in March, and nearly all the 14.1 million doses the country has since received were bottled in the central Mexican state of Queretaro.

A Mexican health ministry source said Mexico modified its agreement when it became clear CanSino would fall well short of delivering 35 million doses by September as had been agreed. The contract would not be renewed, the source added.

A spokesperson for Mexico’s health ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for CanSino did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The contractual shake-up was initially reported by Mexican newspaper La Jornada.