The Latest: Mexico's president knocks US over vaccines

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took a dig at the U.S. government Sunday, saying the United States has not helped Mexico with coronavirus vaccines.

López Obrador thanked India and Russia, which have each sent small amounts of vaccines, and China, whose firms have promised millions of doses.

López Obrador said “I hope that soon I will be able to say thanks to the U.S. government, because I am sure they are going to help too, it is just that that haven’t done so so far.”

Mexico has seen almost 195,000 deaths, and almost 2.2 million cases. The country has approved 6 vaccines, and has so administered about 4.34 million shots.

The White House has rebuffed requests from U.S. allies, including Mexico, Canada and the European Union, for vaccine doses produced in the United States, where months of production runs have produced vaccine solely for use in the country.

The U.S. is scheduled to have enough approved vaccine delivered by mid-May to cover every American adult.

A year after the first coronavirus shutdowns, public records have become harder to get in many U.S. states and cities. Some of the nation’s governors routinely block access to public records, keeping the public in the dark about key decisions involving the coronavirus pandemic. And as state legislatures livestream proceedings, most no longer allow people inside their chambers to observe, and some still do not allow people to testify remotely at committee hearings where legislation is shaped. Educators have helped millions of students get online for distance learning, but a year into the pandemic, millions of others remain without internet access because of financial hurdles and logistical difficulties. Many Africans are rethinking big, bountiful weddings amid the economic ravages of the pandemic, a big change on a continent where weddings are sometimes seen as key in cementing relations between communities.

PARIS — Officials say the Paris region may be headed toward a new lockdown as new variants of the virus fill up intensive care units and limited vaccine supplies drag down inoculation efforts.

Special medical planes dispatched patients from the Paris area to less-saturated regions over the weekend.

“If we have to lock down, we will do it,” the head of the national health agency, Jerome Salomon, said on BFM television Sunday. “The situation is complex, tense and is worsening in the Paris region.”

Salomon acknowledges that a nationwide 6 p.m. curfew “wasn’t enough” in some regions to prevent a spike in cases, notably of the variant first identified in Britain.

The French government has been relying on curfews for months -- along with the long-term closures of restaurants and some other businesses -- to try to avoid a costly new lockdown. But localized outbreaks are raising questions about the government’s virus-fighting strategy.

Salomon says France has more people in intensive care for COVID-19 and other ailments – about 6,300 -- than the overall number of ICU beds it had going into the pandemic.

France has reported 90,315 virus-related deaths, among the world’s highest death tolls.

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser says he doesn’t understand why some people are refusing a vaccine proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “I just can’t comprehend what the reason for that is when you have a vaccine that is 94 to 95% effective and it is very safe. I just don’t get it.”

Fauci commented on NBC’s “Meet the Press” after he was asked to address the issue of vaccine hesitancy. Polling shows divides by race and politics, with Black Americans and supporters of former President Donald Trump expressing more skepticism about the vaccines.

The issue of vaccine hesitancy is important because most Americans must be vaccinated in order to defeat the virus.

Fauci said vaccines have rescued the U.S. from smallpox, polio, measles and other diseases.

He said, “We’ve got to disassociate political persuasion from what’s common sense, no-brainer public health things.”

Source:-https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/the-latest-mexicos-president-knocks-us-over-vaccines/article_134fa652-c006-5ba6-94ae-56fbd2eeb280.html

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