Challenges and Opportunities for Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution in Mexico

This week, the obtaining of health registration for the covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna is anticipated. However, access to these vaccines faces a significant logistical challenge, because they can only be sold in health establishments that have a license to market medicines of fractions I, II and III, a condition that considerably limits the number of pharmacies that will be able to distribute vaccines to the public, since, of the approximately 40,000 businesses of this type in Mexico, only around 8 percent have that license.

In concrete numbers, this means that only around 3,200 points of sale throughout Mexico will have authorization to offer the vaccines, a limited number for the country.

Juvenal Becerra, president of the National Union of Pharmacy Entrepreneurs (Unefarm), highlighted the collaboration with Canifarma and pointed out that at the beginning of next year they could have the green light for the sale of these vaccines. However, he highlighted the restriction, indicating that only around 50 points within his network meet the necessary requirements to handle vaccines, serums and psychotropics.

“We work hand in hand with Canifarma, which at the beginning of the year could already be there, and just the pharmacies that can distribute it will only be those that have this license to handle vaccines, serums and psychotropic drugs, within us only about 50 points They meet this specification,” said Becerra.

As for the vaccines in question, Pfizer could obtain health registration for its Comirnaty vaccine, while Moderna is in the process for its Spikevax vaccine. The distribution process is emerging as a significant logistical challenge, given the limited number of points of sale enabled to offer these vaccines to the population.

AI will take over Las Vegas

From this November 27 to 30, Las Vegas will become the epicenter of technological innovation with re:Invent 2023, an event organized by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for 12 years. This event, directed by Adam Selipsky and founded by the current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, ​​will attract more than 60 thousand participants from around the world, including more than 200 AWS customers and partners from Mexico. During these days, attendees will explore the technological trends that are transforming the business landscape.

re:Invent 2023 will be the stage where the implications and practical applications of artificial intelligence and cloud services will be unraveled. Rubén Mugártegui, head of AWS in Mexico, highlights that the unstoppable growth of cloud adoption is an evident phenomenon. Currently, 45 percent of companies in the country make extensive use of this technology, and this percentage is projected to increase to 58 percent by 2026, according to estimates from Select, which also forecasts that spending on the cloud will reach $1.8 billion in Mexico by the end of this year, which underlines the growing interest of companies from various industries and sizes in re:Invent and its technological developments.

They reward inclusion

Open Finance 2020 brought together industry leaders, commercial banks, payment platforms, retail stores and other financial intermediaries, who shared their experiences in the accelerated adoption of technology to expand their markets.

During the event, held on November 22 and 23, Fincomún, the Popular Financial Society under the direction of David Romero, won the GOFA award in the lending category. The competition was intense, with outstanding participations by Kubo Financiero and Stori in the finals. Fincomún, recognized as the first Sofipo, has maintained a solid reputation in the sector, standing out for its consistent level of capitalization and a minimum delinquency of 1.29 percent.

In a context where the competition to attract users of digital financial products reaches a crucial point in Mexico, the main participants in Open Finance came to the conclusion that the real winners will be those who persist in their objective of promoting financial inclusion through solutions adapted to the needs of the Mexican population.

2023-11-29 13:59:17
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