The inequities in vaccine access in Mexico, which has one of the highest COVID-19 fatality rates in the world, is spurring elites there to head north for a free vaccine, Slate reported.

The United States could vaccinate 70% of its population by September at the current rollout rate, but it could take Mexico until about 2024 to get to that mark, Slate noted.

With the line moving slowly, Mexican elites are looking north, according to Slate.

“These inequities in vaccine access have made the United States a prime destination for vaccine tourism,” Slate’s Lorena Rios wrote.

Many residents of San Pedro Garza García, a municipality within Monterrey — and one of Mexico’s wealthiest enclaves — were among the elites who saw an opportunity as the U.S. vaccination rollout began, Rios reported.

“WhatsApp groups, social media, and news outlets have been inundated with gossip mixed in with news of people flying to Texas to get the shot,” Rios wrote. “Many were people with businesses in Houston or San Antonio, beach houses in South Padre Island, or properties along the border; some had blue passports or residence permits. All of them had the resources to take the plunge.”

Jose Andres Marroquin, a 56-year-old pilot from Monterrey, in northern Mexico, started getting up to 50 calls a day from people asking if he could fly them to Texas on a private jet, Rios reported.

“Americans are doing the right thing by vaccinating as many people as possible,” he told Rios.

But some have taken heat for it at home.

Mexican TV host Juan Jose Origel wrote about getting the shot in Miami and ran into criticism for it, Business Insider reported. And a mayoral candidate in San Pedro ran into trouble for announcing he got his shot in Fresno, California.

Vaccine tourism has already sparked Florida, which got thousands of out-of-state residents and foreign travelers because of its open registration system, to change course and implemented new rules that require people to show proof of residence, Slate reported.

And Texas Democrat state Sen. Borris Miles told a Houston television station he was outraged at vaccine tourism, declaring, "It’s wrong. It shouldn’t happen. … We can’t let our tax dollars go to their parts of the globe."

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