Wealthy Latin Americans flock to US in search of vaccines

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP):

They travel thousands of miles by plane from Latin America to the US, in some places taking a shuttle directly from the airport to COVID-19 vaccine sites. Their ranks include politicians, TV personalities, business executives and a soccer team.

People of means from Latin America are chartering planes, booking commercial flights, buying bus tickets and renting cars to get the vaccine in the United States due to lack of supply at home.

Virginia Gónzalez and her husband flew from Mexico to Texas and then boarded a bus to a vaccination site. They made the trip again for a second dose. The couple from Monterrey, Mexico, acted on the advice of the doctor treating the husband for prostate cancer. In all, they logged 1,400 miles for two round trips.

“It’s a matter of survival,” Gónzalez said of getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. “In Mexico, officials didn’t buy enough vaccines. It’s like they don’t care about their citizens.”

With a population of nearly 130 million people, Mexico has secured more vaccines than many Latin American nations — about 18 million doses as of Monday from the US, China, Russia and India. Most of those have been given to health care workers, people over 60 and some teachers, who so far are the only ones eligible. Most other Latin American countries, except for Chile, are in the same situation or worse.

So vaccine seekers who can afford to travel are coming to the United States to avoid the long wait, including people from as far as Paraguay. Those who make the trip must obtain a tourist visa and have enough money to pay for required coronavirus tests, plane tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars and other expenses.

In Mexico, business is booming for chartered flights to Texas.

Gónzalez and her husband were inoculated in Edinburg, Texas, a city about 160 miles from their home. But with land entry points closed to nonessential travel, the couple decided to take a commercial flight to Houston and then travel by bus.

Earlier this month, 19 players with Monterrey’s professional soccer team known as Rayados flew to Dallas to get the vaccine, local media reported. In Peru, Hernando De Soto, an economist running for president, faced a backlash after he admitted he traveled to the US to get vaccinated.

Television personalities have posted on social media about their trips, attracting the scorn of many viewers who accused them of flaunting their privilege. Juan José Origel, a Mexican television host, tweeted a photo of himself receiving the shot in January in Miami. Argentinian TV personality Yanina Latorre also travelled to Miami for her elderly mother to receive a vaccine and posted a video to Instagram. Shortly after, Florida officials began requiring proof of residency for those seeking a vaccine.

But about half of US states, including Texas, Arizona, and California, have no such requirement and will accept any official form of identification with a photograph.

Many of those travelling have friends or relatives who live in the US and can help them navigate the appointments system or seek a leftover shot. Some have second homes in the US, but others borrow a US address. Some said they have read that many Americans do not plan to get vaccinated.

Alejandra, a dentist who also lives in Monterrey, said she decided to seek a vaccine in the US shortly after losing her mother to COVID-19 in February. She registered online at a CVS pharmacy in Texas by using the address of a friend who lives there.

This past weekend, she flew to Houston and on Monday drove to receive her second Moderna shot in Pasadena, Texas. She asked that her full name not be published because she is afraid of retribution after seeing reports that those who travelled to get vaccines in the US could lose their visas.

Alejandra said she felt a sense of calm after receiving the booster shot and thought of her mom.