By Bernardo Torres Mexico is testing a Covid-19 vaccine in two of the country’s most impacted regions.
As the world arrives to a cumulative 50 million infected, the urgency for a vaccine that mitigates against the worst effects due to a proper anti-body response is only growing. There are over 200 vaccines in the experimental phase (caled Phase 1 or Phase 2 by the FDA).
Mexican Government Collaborates With Chinese Military
Mexico is partnering with the Chinese military and the Canadian pharmaceutical industry to field test and deploy a promising set of vaccines in a Phase 3 trial. Phase-3 trials involve a vaccine that has been proven to yield a strong auto-immune response from participants, but without a sufficient number of subjects to be labeled as a full scale clinical trial.
The project named ‘Cansino Biotech’ will deploy a vaccine in Acapulco, Guerrero with coordination between the Mexican government and members of the Chinese military who were the first to use this vaccine. According to the governor of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo Flores, the vaccine trial will be held in the port of Acapulco, with active recruiment for volunteers.
13 Different Regions in Mexico Will Eventually Receive Vaccine
According to the Under Secretary of Foreign Relations, Martha Delgado, the vaccine will be deployed in in up to 13 different regions of Mexico in addition to the aforementioned Oaxaca and Guerrero.
Eventually, the hope is to scale up the experimental trial to 50 to 60 thousand people in Latin America. The Mexican Health Agency (Cofepris) will be in charge of overseeing its deployment in Mexico.
The experimental trial will be primarily for healthy adults 18 and over. Recruitment for this trial is ongoing, with 20 centers eventually intending to be open for said recruitment for these clinical trials.