The Russian vaccine and other news of the week

Joe Biden announces his formula for the presidency

Kamala Harris will accompany Joe Biden in his race to the presidency and if she wins, she would become the first woman in the United States to reach the vice presidency and she has already become the first black woman to reach the candidacy. These are some of the "first times" that the candidate wants to achieve, as she has already done so by becoming the first female prosecutor in the state of California and the second black woman to reach the Upper House. In the future, and that was her illusion at the beginning of the race for the presidency, she seeks to become the first black woman president.

The senator for California was chosen by Biden after being his rival in the Democratic party primaries in 2019 and having publicly criticized him for some of his decisions in the past. Harris has been an important voice in criticism and pressure towards the Donald Trump administration and comes to this campaign with the slogal "For The People" (For the people). The candidate arrives with a promise by and for the people and becomes an important figure for some minorities, especially considering her immigrant ancestry, her father being from Jamaica and her mother from India. Although she has some left leanings, she is seen as moderate and criticized by some for not being progressive enough.

The Russian vaccine

The week began with the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin about the success of the vaccine named Sputnik V , in reference to the Soviet Union's satellite. He also said that mass production is about to begin and teachers and doctors will be the first to obtain it, approximately by September so that citizens can access it at the beginning of 2021.

The news has been taken with skepticism in some cases, as there are those who say that the process was very fast and can present problems. Therefore, there are countries that have not asked Russia to access it, which the president said can be done soon. Given this, Putin assured that he complied with all the necessary protocols and verifications and added that even his daughter participated in the trials and had no side effects beyond a fever that lasted just a few days.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, "it passed all the necessary safety and efficacy tests in different types of animals" and was then tested in two groups of 38 people. However, the WHO was one of those who received the message with discretion, as it ensures that to be approved, the vaccine must go through a testing phase in more than a thousand volunteers, a phase in which three of the 150 vaccines are found being tested around the world, none of them Sputnik V. This phase 3, according to the vaccine's website , will take place in the Middle East (in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) and in Latin America (in Brazil and Mexico).

For now, according to the director of the Russian investment fund, Kirill Dmitriev, they have requests for more than one billion doses corresponding to 20 countries, mostly from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

Lozoya case in Mexico

Former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018) was reported to the Attorney General's Office for alleged links with the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which would include one more leader in the largest corruption scandal in Latin America today.

The complaint was filed by Emilio Lozoya, former director of Pemex and adviser to Peña Nieto in the presidential campaign in 2012. Lozoya faces money laundering charges and the complaint is part of his collaboration agreement. According to Attorney General Alejandro Gertz, "this individual is pointing out that there were a series of bribes for an amount that exceeds 100 million Mexican pesos (US $ 4.4 million), which were mainly used for the 2012 campaign for the presidency of the Republic".

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Lozoya also involved former President Felipe Calderón with Odebrecht, ensuring that during his presidency (2006-2012) he received “a series of economic benefits” from the Mexican company Etileno XXI, a partner of the Brazilian construction company. According to the statements, the collaborating witness has other witnesses, videos and receipts.

Argentina and Mexico, for the vaccine

Both Latin American countries will join forces to produce the Oxford vaccine in conjunction with the British laboratory AstraZeneca, which has a presence in Argentina, with the aim of producing between 150 and 250 million doses for the region.

The announcement was made by Alberto Fernández, Argentine president, and said that the two countries were informed that they would be the countries in charge of reproduction and distribution for Latin America. The agreement was signed between the laboratory and the foundation of the Mexican businessman Carlos Slim and thus the region will have the possibility of accessing it between 6 and 12 months before the massive distribution.

The vaccine would come at a low price, between 2 and 4 dollars and the only country that will not benefit from this agreement is Brazil, which made an independent agreement. It is expected that the arrival will be during the first half of 2021. It will be produced in the Argentine laboratory mAbxience of the INSUD group, while Mexico will take care of its packaging, and it will be distributed equitably, receiving requests from the governments of the region. .