Mexican Pharmacies Face Vaccine Shortage as Citizens Struggle to Access Covid-19 Protection

“I really like the Government, but these are worse,” Honorio Santamaría says with discomfort outside a central San Pablo pharmacy, located on Insurgentes Avenue, in Mexico City. He has reasons to be angry, a telephone advisor had assured him that at that point there were still vaccines against Covid-19 at that time, but the reality at field level is different. Since noon, that pharmacy has sold out of doses. An employee of the store repeats the same information to both customers who come: they were only supplied with 60 doses and it will be until the next day that they will refill, but she does not know if there will be more or less vaccines. She concludes the litany with the same advice: “You can come and train early, we open at seven in the morning.”

Despite the failed attempt, Santamaría says that he will return earlier tomorrow to buy the vaccine, at a price of 848 pesos, because despite the anger and effort, at 70 years old, his priority is to protect himself from the Sars-Cov2 virus. “The Government has not been able to get the good vaccines either, they have the Abdala and the other one that is rubbish, which is Sputnik and they are not updated,” he says. Although this man recognizes that the price may seem very expensive to certain people, he prefers to see it as an investment in his health. The disappointment of customers due to the lack of vaccines this Wednesday afternoon is repeated in more than one pharmacy, the saleswomen admit with resignation that there was a great demand from the first hours of the commercial launch of Pfizer’s biologics in the pharmacies.

The San Pablo pharmacy recognized that on this first day the high demand exceeded the number of vaccines and in some cases they could no longer apply the vaccine. In his case, the biological product reached 77 branches in the Valley of Mexico, Morelos, Querétaro and Puebla. With 4,500 doses. The company promises that this Thursday they will receive more than 16,000 doses to replenish their points of sale: “In the coming days we will be monitoring the behavior of demand for the application of the vaccine to guarantee the necessary supply. “Mi Consultorio San Pablo reiterates its commitment to offering comprehensive health services for the well-being of Mexicans.”

This imbalance between supply and demand was not exclusive to Farmacias San Pablo. In other points of sale such as Farmacias del Ahorro they also denied having the biological, even in some points of sale its availability extends until next January. The first companies to raise their hands to put the coveted biological on sale, according to the Pfizer laboratory itself, are Farmacias del Ahorro, Farmacias San Pablo, Farmacias Benavides and Farmacias Guadalajara. The price of the doses ranges from 845 pesos to 998 pesos.

Juvenal Becerra Acosta, president of the National Union of Pharmacy Entrepreneurs (Unefarm), announces that 50 of its associates will begin selling the Pfizer vaccine, starting this Friday. In his case, as the association brings together pharmacies that are not part of a large chain, it has taken a little longer to negotiate the price with distributors, however, he anticipates that each application will cost between 900 and 1,000 pesos. Farmatodo and Farmacias Similares still do not have the biological in their catalog or an expected date for when they will be able to offer it.

The businessman recognizes that one of his challenges will be to add pharmacies that have the appropriate facilities and health licenses to handle this type of products. Currently, of the 6,500 members, only 8% have this license. Becerra Acosta estimates that a pharmacist who wants to enable his point of sale to offer the biological will cost between 30,000 and 40,000 pesos. In summary, the president of Unefarm states that the Mexican Government took at least six months to put the protection on commercial sale.

Juan de Villafranca, executive president of the Mexican Association of Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Amelaf), celebrates the importation of these biologicals to put them on sale to the general public, however, he also warns that Mexico must support the production of its own vaccines to avoid having to depend on the foreigner. “It is a process, it does not happen overnight, but it is a good sign for the population,” he concludes.

In parallel, the Government has its vaccination campaign against the virus underway. In Mexico, in addition to Pfizer, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) has given approval for the sale of the covid-19 vaccine to the Moderna laboratory. The sale will not interfere with the Government’s vaccination campaign for those over 18 years of age that started this October 16 and seeks to immunize the population against covid-19 and influenza. The Ministry of Health reported that, so far, more than 3.8 million doses have been applied, covering approximately 18% of the government goal. The Mexican authorities use the biologicals Abdala and Sputnik.

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2023-12-21 04:30:01
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