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Mexico To Vaccinate Rural Elderly, But Still Awaits Vaccine

By jsalinas 01/05/2021382 views

Shoppers and vendors mingle amid the COVID-19 pandemic in an informal street market selling gifts for Three Kings Day in central Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. In Mexico, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

(AP) — Once Mexico has vaccinated its frontline medical workers against COVID-19, the government will turn its attention to the elderly living in its most remote places.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that 10,000 brigades made up of medical personnel and health promoters with security provided by the National Guard will target 3 million senior citizens in rural areas.

The brigades will work back from isolated areas to towns and cities. The plan will hinge on Mexico’s emergency approval of the Chinese CanSino vaccine, which only requires a single dose.