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Dismayed by the slow deployment of Covid-19 shots at home, middle-class Mexicans are increasingly traveling to the United States, as some loose inoculation policies in some states fuel vaccine tourism.
“It’s a kind of common knowledge that can be vaccinated in different places,” said Julia Reyes, a researcher who traveled from Mexico to Dallas this week to get her first shot and asked that her real name not be used. .
“They don’t ask for anything because the policy is ‘we want everyone here to get vaccinated.’
Through WhatsApp groups or word of mouth, Mexicans with the possibility of traveling with a hat cap exchange tips and pack planes, taking advantage of their proximity to a country with a large number of vaccines and where doses are made in some places, including the Texas state border: not used.
Try Las Vegas, some advise: some hotels offer a free night to people traveling to get their shots. Claim to have a state of health such as diabetes or hypertension, if someone asks for it, others recommend it. If the vaccines have run out at 5pm, come back the next day at 7am; You can show your Mexican driver’s license, as others advise.
“I had to become a vaccine detective,” said a college professor who asked not to be identified. Desiring not to jump in the queue, she only traveled to the United States once vaccines for her age group had been authorized, information she discovered daily by consulting websites.
“My decision is based on a very clear assessment of the Mexican vaccination process (for people my age, it can take months) they don’t even vaccinate all health care workers,” he said.
Mexico has stepped up vaccine distribution, reaching a record nearly 554,000 doses in a single day this week, but Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has acknowledged that dependence on foreign-fired shots has caused “delays and difficulties.” .
Since becoming the first Latin American country to start vaccinating on Christmas Eve last year, Mexico has administered more than 13 million doses, largely to top-notch health personnel, older than 60 years and some teachers. The government insists that all over-60s will have had at least one dose by the end of this month and that vaccinations for teachers and over-50s will begin soon.
On the contrary, the WE, which has administered more than 200 million shots, quickly opens up eligibility for the vaccine. Now all states vaccinate anyone 16 years of age or older or have committed to do so soon. Texas alone has managed more than 15 million shots.
In some places, supply exceeds demand, with gaps between the number of vaccines delivered and the number administered, especially in the south.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that several states, especially in the southeast of the country, have more than 30% of their vaccines unused. In Texas, just under a quarter of the vaccines distributed have not yet been used.
Part of the reason seems to be a reluctance to get vaccinated, which is particularly strong among rural Republicans. Surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) health think tank have found that this group is more likely to say they will definitely not get a vaccine.
Texas is one of the places where Mexicans who fear a long wait at home take advantage. According to KFF, there are no residency requirements for vaccines in the state, along with 20 others.
“The plane here was full,” said Reyes, who saw someone she had seen on board at the Walmart where she was vaccinated. The Monterrey Football Club, known as the Rayados, a football team based in northern Mexico, reportedly traveled en masse to Dallas in recent days to get punched.
“They [the medical staff] we continue to appreciate the vaccination, ”said the professor, who shot her at a huge vaccination center in another U.S. state, Utah.
Alicia, another Mexican who also asked not to be given her real name, said she subscribed to “tons of bills” before traveling to Texas. As soon as the CVS pharmacy announced that the vaccines were open, it jumped.
Julien de Bellaigue, owner of a French restaurant in Mexico City, also traveled to Texas this week to make his first shot. “In Mexico, if I had to wait my turn (I’m 40), I’d be waiting until the spring of 2022. In France, I might be eligible in the fall, but I’m already here. I see a lot of people all day in because of my job and every day I go to sleep saying “I hope I haven’t caught it,” he said.
One of his friends has even set up a business, he said, charging $ 180 to get vaccine appointments for people traveling from Mexico.
The Texas Department of Health said the state’s distribution program was “intended for people who live, work or spend a significant amount of time in Texas.”
Last week, 99.4% of people vaccinated in Texas came from the state, officials said, compared to 0.56% outside the state and 0.04% from a state. another country. “The data shows it’s not a major issue,” the department said.
“The need for Mexicans to go to the United States is 100%, it’s not for fun,” said Alicia, who has a state of health that makes her a high risk of Covid. Because of this, she was unable to get vaccinated against the viral virus and was concerned that the BioNTech / Pfizer outbreak might not be available.
She is now completely vaccinated with both doses of Pfizer. She did have suspicions: “Some people have said we are abusing the US government and we are, it’s true.”
But Reyes said, “I think it’s an incredible policy: they really care and want everyone who passes through their country to be vaccinated, whether it’s illegal immigrants or tourists.”
The Mexican government has a political imperative to accelerate its own vaccination program: the midterm elections are in June and the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador he hopes to strengthen control of Congress and increase the number of states ruled by his party.
According to one recent survey, 67% of Mexicans who had already been vaccinated or who had a relative who had been approved by the president, 8 points more than among those not inoculated.
In a country where you love eight out of 10 covid deaths they have been among those with little or no education, vaccine tourism only worsens the division between the poor and the rich.
“Unfortunately, it aggravates the inequality perpetuated by Covid,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Center for Latin America. “Elites can buy a plane ticket and get the shot, but people who need it even more, because they can’t stay home and telecommuting, can’t.”
Additional reports from Justin Jacobs
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