Office of the Mexican President

Hugo López-Gatell

MEXICO CITY — The Biden administration is pushing to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations, while making them more accessible for everyone. But in Mexico, the government is being criticized for what many consider a slow process that is also raising privacy concerns. 

A few days ago, the Mexican government started to provide vaccines to the elderly. But many have accused authorities of illegally taking their photographs and photocopying their voter IDs. 

Some people also say individuals identified as members of the president's party are using the vaccination sites to get data from voters.

After the controversy, which also brought the attention of Mexico's National Electoral Institute, the government yielded.

Mexico's Undersecretary of Health Hugo López-Gatell said it's not necessary to get the picture and the copy of the ID, although the national register number, known as CURP, will still be used as a reference.

According to López-Gatell, more than a million people have been vaccinated so far, including some health and public workers.