Mexico virus

MEXICO CITY: Mexico started a mass coronavirus vaccination programme on Thursday with a nurse first to be shown receiving the jab in the country with one of the world’s highest Covid-19 death tolls.

The televised launch came a day after the first 3,000 doses produced by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech arrived by courier plane from Belgium. The first batch of vaccines, which are being guarded by the military to prevent them falling into criminals’ hands, is destined for frontline medical personnel.

Maria Irene Ramirez, a 59-year-old nurse, received the first televised injection at a hospital in Mexico City. "It’s the best gift I could receive in 2020," she said. "It makes me safer and gives me more courage to continue in the war against an invisible enemy. We’re afraid but we must continue."