Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased in Mexico in recent weeks, and the positivity rate for the infectious disease is on the rise as well.
Data published by the federal Health Ministry shows that the number of confirmed COVID cases increased every week between May 26 and June 29.
There was a week-over-week decline in confirmed cases between June 30 and July 6, but the number could later be revised upward.
While confirmed COVID-19 infections have recently been on the rise, case numbers remain quite low, especially when compared with figures from 2020 and 2021.
Between 100 and 200 confirmed cases were reported every week between early May and late June, before the number rose above 200 in the final week of last month. Case numbers were significantly higher earlier in 2024, peaking at above 700 in Epidemiological Week 6, which ran from Feb. 4 to 10.
Meanwhile, the COVID positivity rate — the percentage of people who tested positive for the disease — rose during seven consecutive weeks to reach 28% between June 30 and July 6. That’s the highest positivity rate recorded so far this year.
According to the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the positivity rate “is a critical measure because it gives us an indication how widespread infection is in the area where the testing is occurring — and whether levels of testing are keeping up with levels of disease transmission.”
“A high percent positive means that more testing should probably be done – and it suggests that it is not a good time to relax restrictions aimed at reducing coronavirus transmission,” it adds.
More than 8,000 confirmed COVID cases so far this year
The Health Ministry said that 8,075 confirmed cases of COVID were recorded between Jan. 1 and July 6, a 44% decrease compared to the same period of last year.
There have been 375 deaths associated with COVID this year, the ministry said.
Mexico has recorded more than 330,000 COVID-related deaths, the fifth highest total in the world. Its per-capita mortality rate is the 32nd highest in the world, according to John Hopkins University, with 261 deaths per 100,000 people.
Mexico News Daily
Would be nice if the author looked into and reported on updated vaccination rates and how many deaths were of the unvaccinated. It would help government and people understand the importance of vaccination for COVID.
According to the New York Times vaccinations tracker, 78% of the Mexican population is vaccinated (one shot) and 65% of the population is “fully vaccinated” (two shots).
Additional doses have been administered to 45% of the population.
I haven’t seen any data on how many of the deceased were vaccinated. The number would be significant as many people died of COVID-related complications before vaccines were first available in Mexico in late 2020.
COVID-related deaths in Mexico declined significantly in 2022 and 2023 compared to the previous two years.
Pharmacies in Mexico have been selling COVID vaccines since late 2023, and shots have also been available free of charge at public health care facilities.
There is some information about where vaccines are available in this El Financiero article.
Peter Davies
https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/salud/2024/07/16/repunte-de-casos-de-covid-19-en-mexico-cuanto-cuestan-las-pruebas-y-las-vacunas-en-2024/
Agree with Julie Harris!
The purpose of article is to show the rise in COVID cases so that one can protect themselves. Mexico hasn’t had a current vaccine with all the variants in years. So the vaccine status doesn’t mean much. The vaccine doest stop you from getting g COVID but makes you less likely to die .
The vast majority of the vaccines they did get (Cansino was one) had very poor efficacy, like 10%, so I’m not sure that the vaccine status meant anything in the beginning, either.
How does the Health Ministry track COVID cases? For example, the U.S. has reduced itself to collecting data only via wastewater. I saw the link to the data, but I don’t know Spanish! Thanks.
I am confused on something in this article. It says Confirmed cases are on the rise, and that the positivity rate is increasing as well. Would these both not be one in the same? If you have a higher percentage of people testing positive for Covid, to me that means it is on the rise. So isn’t it logical that if you have one you automatically have the other?
I spent 20 yrs in R&D developing new vaccines and medicines with companies like Pfizer and Sanofii then retired to Mexico as COVID began. Here is my take: Death rates are the same as before (1-2%) 2 per day out of 200 cases per day, but many many fewer people are getting sick, so this means the vaccines are still working well (t-cell b-cell memory is long) preventing the disease from making most people very ill, many may not know they have it. However the vaccines most Mexican received are out of date vs the newest strains. They worked perfectly well in the beginning and they are still preventing disease now but if you have not had an update in the last year, try to get to Jalisco or the US where you can get an updated vaccine , especially if you are in any risk group. BTW the Governor of Jalisco has worked directly with Pfizer and Moderna so that the mRNA vaccines are available in many places including Farmacia Guadalajara (MND please double check this is correct and the price is around 800 pesos, I think)
Thank you for adding pertinent information Bradford Burns..
There are several years of statistics and real science out now indicating that the vaccines and boosters were not safe and effective. They did not prevent people getting sick nor from transmitting “whatever it was” to others. The PCR tests were bogus. In fact, the vaccines and boosters are being blamed for significantly more deaths than typical in 2022 and 2023 in many countries.
Barbara Johnson, what specifically are your sources for “…several years of statistics and real science…”, please. Thank you