Chinese vaccine maker files for Mexican government’s OK

MEXICO CITY — Mexico announced Friday that Sinovac, the Chinese manufacturer of the CoronaVac vaccine, has submitted paperwork for approval in Mexico. Another Chinese company, CanSino, has submitted partial paperwork.

Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote Friday that the CanSino vaccine had been “applied successfully” in the trials and had applied for authorization. But Assistant Health Secretary Hugo LópezGatell clarified that it had presented only “initial” documents, noting:

“They are not yet results” of Phase 3 trials.

CanSino has not released any estimated efficacy rate. Mexico probably would require those figures for approval.

Sinovac has released a varied range of efficacy estimates from Phase 3 trials in other countries, from as low as 50.65 percent for preventing infections to 100 percent in preventing severe cases.

Mexico is running out of vaccines and had placed its hopes on CanSino’s single-shot dose. CanSino has carried out Phase 3 trials in Mexico with 14,425 volunteers enrolled.

Mexico has been promised 8 million doses of the CanSino vaccine by March and is particularly upbeat about the Chinese shot because it is relatively easy to handle and will be finished and bottled at a plant in Mexico.

Mexico also recently approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine but won’t get that, or more doses of the Pfizer vaccine, until later this month.

Mexico has received about 760,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and has only about 60,000 of those left, many of which are earmarked for second shots. The country has been able to give doses to about half its front-line medical personnel.

Mexico registered 13,051 confirmed infections Friday, reaching 1.91 million. There were 1,368 deaths confirmed, for a total of 164,290. But Mexico does little testing, and some death estimates suggest the real toll is well above 195,000.

Mexico City, the epicenter of the pandemic in Mexico, remains under the highest level or alert with hospitals over 80 percent full. But on Friday, the city government announced that shopping centers would be allowed to reopen at 20 percent of capacity if customers spent no longer than a half hour inside.