Mexico approves AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use

Mexico’s coronavirus response leader Hugo Lopez-Gatell points to a vial of the Covid-19 vaccine (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

Mexico has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, hoping to spur a halting vaccination effort that has only given about 44,000 jabs since the third week of December, about 82% of the doses the country has received.

The Pfizer vaccine had been the only one approved for use in Mexico, until Mexican regulators approved the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday.