Mexico says could order 22mn more vaccine doses from J&J

MEXICO CITY: Mexico could order an additional 22 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen unit under a memorandum of understanding signed this week, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Tuesday.

Janssen has begun its coronavirus clinical trials in Mexico, and Lopez-Gatell said the memorandum his government signed on Monday gave it the option of ordering additional doses.

"So there we could end up getting up to 22 million more vaccines from Janssen," Lopez-Gatell, the government's coronavirus czar, told a regular evening news conference. "It's not a contract yet, it's a letter of intent."

Earlier, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would wait his turn for the COVID-19 vaccine, as officials detailed a plan that prioritizes healthcare workers and the elderly to receive the first doses.