translated from Spanish: Mexico authorizes AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19

The Federal Commission for the Protection of Health Risks (Cofepris) authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine “for emergency use” against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This was released by undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo López-Gatell.

Today, January 4, 2021, @COFEPRIS authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
— Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) January 5, 2021

Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard welcomed the authorization, so he said that “production in Mexico will begin very soon.”

Very good news the emergency approval of the AztraZeneca vaccine by COFEPRIS!!!! This will soon start production in Mexico !!!
— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) January 5, 2021

This is the second vaccine approved as emergency use by health authorities in Mexico, following the authorization of Pfizer’s on December 11.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine will be produced in Latin America by Laboratories in Mexico and Argentina, with the support of the Slim Foundation.
Read: Oxford-AstraZeneca to do trials combining its vaccine with Russian Sputnik V
As of December 30, Mexico had pre-completed 77.4 million doses.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said last November that the vaccine has an average efficacy of 70%, reaching 90% at a lower dose, according to clinical trials in the UK and Brazil.
But it has the great advantage of using a more traditional technology, which makes it less expensive and easier to store and transport, since it does not need to be stored at very low temperature: it can be stored at least six months refrigerated between 2oC and 8oC, British equipment needed.
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Original source in Spanish