{"id":3078,"date":"2021-06-01T18:01:09","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T18:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/griit.org\/?p=3078"},"modified":"2024-01-29T14:20:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T14:20:23","slug":"multilateralism-covid-vaccine-distribution-and-cross-border-trade-the-cases-of-brazil-and-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/griit.org\/multilateralism-covid-vaccine-distribution-and-cross-border-trade-the-cases-of-brazil-and-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Multilateralism, COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, and Cross-border Trade: The Cases of Brazil and Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
by Maria Matilde Arroyo Carmona <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mexico and Brazil have been beneficiaries of multilateral international efforts, such as COVAX, which has promoted equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. However the inoculation process in each country needs to be improved in order to reach herd immunity and economic stability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current Situation in Mexico and Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The governments of the two largest economies in Latin America, Mexico and Brazil, currently under  Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador<\/a> and the Jair Bolsonaro<\/a> administration respectively, face logistics, supply<\/a>, communication, and inequality<\/a> challenges in the vaccination process. The roll out is slow and inefficient, people need to line up for hours without access to awnings, hydration stations, and others need to travel hours hoping to receive a reliable covid-19 vaccine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Mexico and Brazil, the mission of delivering vaccines is being managed by the armed forces and the Health Ministry, but private hospitals or pharmacies are not being included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While both Mexico and Brazil import vaccines through COVAX, the results in terms of the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated and the COVID cases vary greatly. Vaccination rates are as low as 5.83% for Mexico and 6.49% for Brazil. At the same time, the cases of Covid-19 keep increasing; Mexico <\/a>presented 3,025 new cases on May 2nd and Brazil<\/a>, 28,935. Furthermore, not all-public hospitals have enough beds, supplies, or refrigeration to keep vaccines safe. Inevitably this crisis has brought not just health problems but economic and trade challenges (Table 1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n