Vaccination in Mexico

Vaccination in Mexico includes the use of vaccines in advancing public health. Mexico has a multi-year program for immunization of children.[1] The immunization of children is fully covered by the government of Mexico.[1] Mexico has an adverse events committee to monitor the adverse effects of vaccination as well as a standing technical advisory group on immunization.[1]

COVID-19 vaccination

Main article: COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico
COVID-19 vaccine vials being made ready for delivery at a vaccination center in Mexico

In Mexico, 4% of individuals received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of March 2021.[2] Wealthy Mexicans were reported to travel to the neighboring United States for receiving their vaccinations.[2] In March, the White House announced that four million doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in the United States will be sent to Mexico.[3][4]

In a survey conducted in March 2021, 52% of Mexicans said that they were willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, 20% said they were not sure and 28% said they would not get vaccinated.[5] As of early October, children's COVID-19 vaccination programs began, but only for those with medical conditions, yet when asked in an open survey, parents were highly interested in having their children vaccinated. Nonetheless, parents did express levels of concern involving their children developing adverse effects from the vaccine.[6]

On April 20, 2021, President López Obrador televised himself receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.[7][8]

National vaccination plan

The national vaccination plan against COVID-19 has been planned as below in Mexico:[9]

  • December 2020 – February 2021: Health workers dealing with COVID
  • February – April 2021: Other health workers and people 60+ years of age
  • April – May 2021: People 50–59 years old
  • May – June 2021: People 40–49 years old
  • June 2021 – March 2022: People 19–39 years old (children under 18 are exempted from vaccination)

Authorized vaccines

The following vaccines are authorized by the Mexican government for use against COVID-19 (approval date in parentheses):[9]

Routine vaccines

The recommended vaccine schedule for children in Mexico contains vaccinations against sixteen vaccine preventable diseases.[10] Vaccine doses administered in Mexico are usually valid in the United States.[11] The immunization schedule for children in Mexico is as follows:

Vaccines[10]
Name Age of administration Diseases prevented
BCG at birth Tuberculosis
Antihepatitis B at birth, 2, 6 months Hepatitis B
Rotarix 2, 4 months Rotavirus
Pneumococcal vaccine 2, 4 months, 12 through 15 months Pneumococcal pneumonia
Antihepatitis A 12, 18 months Hepatitis A
Pentavalent vaccine 2, 4, 6, 18 months H. influenzae type B, Pertussis, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio
Varicella vaccine 12 months Chicken pox
MMR vaccine 12 months, 18 months through 6 years Measles, Mumps, Rubella
Influenza vaccine 6 through 59 months, 36 months through 9 years (high risk only) Influenza
Human papillomavirus vaccine 11 through 12 years (3 doses, girls only) Human Papillomavirus
DPT 4 through 6 years Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus
MR vaccine from 10 years of age Measles, Rubella
Sabin vaccine 2 doses per years, from 6 to 59 months of age in addition to prior 2 doses of IPV Polio
Td from 10 years of age Tetanus

In addition, Vitamin A supplements are offered to all children aged 6 to 59 months.[10]


Vaccine coverage

The vaccine coverage of various vaccines in Mexico are as follows, according to the most recent survey conducted by the World Health Organization in 2014:

Vaccine coverage[1][12]
Vaccine Coverage
BCG 93%
DTP dose 1 92%
DTP dose 3 72%
Hepatitis B dose 3 82%
Hib dose 3 72%
Pneumococcal vaccine dose 3 57%
Rotavirus vaccine 63%

According to the statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), no cases of diphtheria, measles, polio or yellow fever were reported in Mexico in 2019. However, mumps and pertussis cases are on the rise in Mexico, with 8009 and 874 children reportedly having contracted mumps and pertussis respectively in 2019. There was an increase in tetanus cases from a total of 23 in 2018 to 35 in 2019.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Organization, WHO | World Health. "WHO : Immunization Country Profile". apps.who.int. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b LINTHICUM, KATE; HENNESSY-FISKE, MOLLY (31 March 2021). "With Mexico's vaccination program lagging, wealthy Mexicans are flocking to the U.S." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ "US to send 4m vaccine doses to Canada and Mexico". BBC News. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. ^ Kitroeff, Natalie; Abi-Habib, Maria; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Tankersley, Jim (18 March 2021). "U.S. to Send Millions of Vaccine Doses to Mexico and Canada". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Mexico ramps up vaccinations as COVID deaths top 200,000". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. ^ Delgado-Gallegos, Juan Luis; Padilla-Rivas, Gerardo R.; Gastelum-Arias, Lilia Julieta; Zuñiga-Violante, Erika; Avilés-Rodríguez, Gener; Arellanos-Soto, Daniel; Franco-Villareal, Héctor; Garza-Treviño, Elsa N.; Cosío-León, María de los Ángeles; Romo-Cardenas, Gerardo Salvador; Ramos-Jiménez, Javier; Rivas-Estrilla, Ana Ma.; Moreno-Cuevas, Jorge E.; Islas, Jose Francisco (28 December 2021). "Parent's Perspective towards Child COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Cross-Sectional Study in Mexico". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19 (1): 290. doi:10.3390/ijerph19010290. PMC 8751075. PMID 35010556.
  7. ^ "Lopez Obrador gets COVID jab: 'It protects us all'". www.aljazeera.com. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  8. ^ Jeong, Sophie; Fox, Kara; Pearce, Nicholas (2021-04-20). "Mexican president will livestream getting vaccinated to reassure the country of its safety". CNN. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  9. ^ a b "Mexico: The Latest on COVID-19 and Vaccination Measures". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Vaccination schedule for Mexico". Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Binational Immunization Resource Tool" (PDF). Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Immunization in the Americas 2012 summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2 April 2021.