Mexican president refuses coronavirus vaccine: “I have antibodies”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel “AMLO” López Obrador said in a press conference that he will not take a Covid-19 vaccine, after testing positive for the coronavirus at the end of January. AMLO says his doctors ensured he has “enough antibodies,” adding that immunization would “not be necessary.”

Mexico’s coronavirus crisis is somewhat overshadowed by catastrophes in the U.S. and Brazil, which combine for a total of 43 million infections and nearly 900,000 deaths. But the North American country has experienced its own human tragedy, with total deaths likely surpassing those confirmed in Brazil at almost 300,000.

Last week, the AMLO administration published a report revising the country’s coronavirus death toll up by 60 percent. If accurate, the updated death toll would give Mexico a Covid-19 death rate of nearly 2,500 per 1 million people, the second-highest in the world behind the tiny British territory of Gibraltar.

Disgruntled Mexicans call AMLO a “traitor” and “genocidal,” with calls for the president to be held legally responsible for his pandemic mismanagement. 

Similarly to Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, the Mexican president belittled the coronavirus and acted against scientific knowledge with regard to mask use and social distancing. Experts have accused AMLO of confusing citizens and hampering the country’s ability to tame the pandemic.

Mexico has so far distributed 9 million vaccine doses to its population of 126 million.

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