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By Reuters
TEGUCIGALPA – The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) has a $400 million loan to seven countries in the region and the Dominican Republic for the acquisition and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine, the bank said Monday in a statement.
Latin American countries are concerned that they will be left at the end of the queue when a vaccine is developed, as richer countries such as the United States and Britain have tried to acquire soon from major vaccine manufacturers.
Argentina and Mexico, two BCIE spouse countries, have already signed agreements with the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc to mass produce vaccines for countries in the region.
BCIE president Dante Mossi said the agreement will allow “opportunistic and efficient” for Central America.
“This Approval Matrix … allows countries in the Central American region to access this medical source when available and to put immunization movements in place for their population,” BCIE said in a statement.
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic will each get $50 million in an emergency program for the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting through Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Written through Drazen Jorgic; Edited through Matthew Lewis)
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