Cancún Begins Winter Vaccination Drive; COVID-19 Vaccines Not Yet at IMSS

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The winter vaccination campaign got underway this week in Cancún, with influenza doses being administered at Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) clinics, but COVID-19 vaccines have yet to reach the city’s medical units.

A tour of IMSS Family Medicine Units (UMF) confirmed that only the influenza vaccine is currently available and that there is no firm date for the arrival of the coronavirus supplies. The possibility that the doses could arrive next week was described as an expectation rather than a confirmed timeline.

Turnout was light at the facilities visited. The launch of the national campaign drew no large crowds, and no long lines of beneficiaries formed to seek protection against the illnesses typical of the cold season.

“I haven’t been vaccinated; we usually do it in November and December, but we do plan to,” said one homemaker who had come to a clinic on other business. “I already got vaccinated this year, but I don’t know if I need another dose — that’s what I came to ask,” another user said.

A clinic worker explained that supplies can vary from one facility to another because shipments arrive on different days, and advised residents to check directly at their clinic to see whether the required doses are in stock. At the unit visited on Avenida Cobá, immunization is offered Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Priority Groups and Children’s Schedule

The campaign aims to strengthen protection against respiratory diseases, whose incidence rises during the winter. Influenza shots are directed first at groups at greatest risk of complications — young children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions — under criteria set by health authorities.

Children between 6 and 59 months who have never received the seasonal vaccine require two doses administered four weeks apart.

This year, health officials also plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the basic childhood immunization schedule for children aged 6 to 59 months, given in two doses four weeks apart. For adults, the COVID-19 regimen and recommendations depend on age, individual medical history and current health guidelines.

Several beneficiaries said they intend to get vaccinated in November or December. Some who asked for information said they had been vaccinated previously but could not recall exactly when, while one resident said he received a dose last year and would be willing to repeat it if recommended.

Residents seeking either vaccine should check availability at their own medical unit, since at the start of the campaign the IMSS clinics visited in Cancún stocked only the influenza preparation.