Federal health officials were confident Friday that deliveries of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will arrive soon enough that people who have had their first shot will receive the second one on time.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell told the nightly press briefing that Pfizer had advised it was unable to send more vaccine any sooner than February 15 following an appeal by President López Obrador that deliveries be hastened. 

However, he said those who were given their first shot since January 13 — 530,959 healthcare workers — will get their second within 35 days, given that the second injections will begin on February 17. 

The initial recommendation was that the second jab be given within 21 days but López-Gatell has said that the time frame can be extended to 42 days.

Health Ministry spokesman Ruy López Ridaura told the press conference that some 511,000 doses are expected between February 15 and 22.

Healthcare workers and some state governors expressed concern earlier this week that further delays in vaccine shipments would prevent the timely delivery of the second inoculation.

The week also brought frustration for senior citizens attempting to register for vaccination at a new federal website. Swamped with citizens wishing to obtain the vaccine, the site was unable to handle the volume.

However, as of Saturday the site — https://mivacuna.salud.gob.mx/ — appeared to be functioning well and Mexico News Daily successfully completed a registration.

Meanwhile, the number of new Covid cases and fatalities continue to rise, although the rate has declined significantly in the past week.

There were 13,051 new cases reported Friday, bringing the total to 1,912,871, and 1,368 deaths, raising that total to 164,290.

Source: Milenio (sp)