Thread by @DrEricDing

BREAKING—White House plans to send 2.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca #covid19 vaccine to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada. 30 mil doses sit in warehouses.

This comes just as US quietly pressing Mexico to curb migrants coming to the border. nytimes.com/2021/03/18/wor…

2) Tens of millions of doses of the vaccine have been sitting in American manufacturing sites. But while their use has already been authorized in dozens of countries, the vaccine has not yet been approved by American regulators. Hence the unused stockpile building.

3) The reason it has not been approved is that it had not be formally submitted to the FDA yet. AstraZeneca has focused on Europe more. US already has 3 approved vaccines.

4) “Anticipating a surge of migrants and the most apprehensions by American agents at the border in two decades, Mr. Biden asked President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico in a video call this month whether more could be done to help solve the problem”

5) “The two presidents also discussed the possibility of the United States sending Mexico some of its surplus vaccine supply, a senior Mexican official said. Mexico has publicly asked the Biden administration to send it doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine”

6) “Mexican officials contend that the efforts to secure vaccines are separate from the negotiations over migration. But they acknowledge that relations between the 🇺🇸 & 🇲🇽, with one of the world’s deadliest coronavirus epidemics, would be buoyed by a shipment of doses south.”

7) “Both governments cooperate on the basis of an orderly, safe and regular migration system,” But he said there was no quid pro quo for vaccines: “These are two separate issues, as we look for a more humane migratory system and enhanced cooperation against COVID-19”