IMSS Launches Winter Vaccination Drive in Quintana Roo With 263,000 Doses

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Quintana Roo launched its Winter Vaccination Campaign for the 2026-2027 season on Oct. 12, a drive that will run through April 2, 2027, with a state target of more than 263,000 doses against influenza and COVID-19.

According to the agency’s state office, health workers aim to administer 204,304 influenza doses and 59,423 COVID-19 doses across Quintana Roo.

The campaign includes an updated quadrivalent influenza vaccine tailored to the A and B strains circulating most widely this year, along with Moderna and Pfizer formulas against COVID-19 and a pneumococcal vaccine for adults over 60 and those with underlying health conditions.

Federal Health Secretary David Kershenobich confirmed the national campaign would begin Oct. 12 in every state, noting that Mexico administers roughly 30 million influenza doses each year and has delivered 149 million vaccines over the past two years of the federal government.

State health surveillance data currently place Quintana Roo second in the country for influenza cases, with three deaths recorded so far in the 2026 inter-seasonal period.

Priority Groups and New RSV Shot

Priority groups include children aged 6 to 59 months, adults 60 and older, pregnant women, health care workers and people aged 5 to 59 with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer or HIV.

New this year, the campaign will offer the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine to women between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, protecting infants from birth.

IMSS officials said the vaccines are free for both members and non-members, in keeping with the constitutional right to universal health care.

Norma Angélica González, the agency’s delegational nursing coordinator, said the vaccines are safe and can be given even to people with a mild cold, as long as they do not have a fever. She added that the national health card is not required, though officials recommend bringing it.

Mobile Brigades and Weekend Clinics

IMSS will deploy out-of-clinic brigades, set up vaccination modules in supermarkets, street markets and public plazas, and conduct house-to-house visits for older adults with limited mobility.

Vaccination will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with weekend service at Full-Time units.