Yesterday the Federal Ministry of Health published in the Official Gazette of the Federation an agreement establishing, as an extraordinary action in matters of general health, that the governments of the states and the public and private entities that are part of the National Health System may contribute to the National Vaccination Policy against the SARS-CoV2 virus by directly acquiring the vaccine with their own resources.
Among the requirements to be met are: (i) submitting the vaccine acquisition contracts entered into with pharmaceutical companies authorized in Mexico, (ii) reporting the number of doses acquired and administered, (iii) adhering to the schedule and priority by groups of persons in accordance with the National Vaccination Policy, and (iv) guaranteeing the traceability of the vaccination process and reporting on its follow-up. Notwithstanding the laudable purpose of the agreement, there are several legal problems that would make its application difficult. Indeed, its content is insufficient to allow state governments and the entities that are part of the National Health System to directly import the vaccines, and it also subjects them to a National Vaccination Policy that was not published in the Official Gazette of the Federation but on a website whose content is ambiguous, incomplete and subject to constant modifications. Regardless of the foregoing, and as is publicly known, the possibility of acquiring vaccines against the SARS-CoV2 virus in the short term is practically nil given the enormous demand from the global community, which has led pharmaceutical companies to have their production committed until the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. The full text of the agreement is available at this link. For additional information, please contact our experts: Luis Miguel Jiménez, Partner: +52 (55) 5258 1058, lmjimenez@vwys.com.mx Javier Lizardi, Partner: +52 (55) 5258 1021, jlizardi@vwys.com.mx María de Lourdes Salazar y Vera, Associate: +52 (55) 5258 1058, mlsalazar@vwys.com.mx Cinthya González, Associate: +52 (55) 5258 1021, cgonzalez@vwys.com.mx
