Biden to send Mexico virus vaccine as U.S. seeks help on border enforcement

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots.

White House officials confirmed Thursday that the Biden administration planned to send 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a “loan.” The details were still being worked out.

Meantime, Mexico is moving to help the U.S. contain a migration surge, senior officials of both nations told the Washington Post.

“Mexican and U.S. officials who described the agreement said it was not a quid pro quo conditioning the delivery of vaccines on an enforcement crackdown. Rather, the United States made clear it sought help from Mexico managing a record influx of Central American teenagers and children. Mexico pledged to take back more Central American families “expelled” under a U.S. emergency health order, while also urging Biden to share the U.S. vaccine supply,” the Post reported.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been authorized for use in the U.S. but has been authorized by the World Health Organization. Tens of millions of doses have been stockpiled in the U.S. should it receive emergency use authorization, sparking an international outcry that lifesaving doses could not be used elsewhere.

The White House has said President Biden’s priority is the vaccination of all Americans, but the official said Biden was authorizing the loan because the “virus knows no borders.”