Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is authorized in Mexico for emergency use

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s health regulator has granted emergency use authorization to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Thursday.

Even so, Lopez-Gatell said there was no immediate plan to acquire the vaccine for Mexico.

“We have a decent supply with the other five vaccines,” he said during his regular evening news conference.

Lopez-Gatell estimated that as many as 2 million Mexicans might travel to the United States to get inoculated but stressed that there were no formal assessments.

The regulator, COFEPRIS, said in a separate statement that the authorization for emergency use certifies that the vaccine meets the quality, safety and efficacy requirements necessary to be applied.

Earlier on Thursday, Mexico had reported more than 3,000 new cases of COVID-19.