The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is in the process of finalizing efforts to distribute 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a “loan.” The details are still being worked out. The World Health Organization, European regulators and dozens of countries have signed off on the shots based on studies done in the U.K. and elsewhere. Still, the debate raised fears that the safety question would undermine confidence in AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is key to immunization efforts in several countries. Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter that Mexico was receiving the vaccine as a result of the conversation between President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador this month.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 18, 2021 17:37 UTC