Cross-border effort underway to vaccinate thousands of maquiladora workers By Alexandra Mendoza, The San Diego Union-Tribune Published: May 30, 2021, 10:30am Share: SAN DIEGO — Thousands of maquiladora workers employed in Baja California by U.S. subsidiary companies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of a first-of-its-kind cross-border pilot program announced this week. “This is the first cross-border agreement that we have that aims to try to equalize vaccination rates on the northern border, especially in cities that have greater interconnection, such as Tijuana and San Diego,” Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s ministry of foreign relations, said Tuesday. The pilot program, which started Monday, is a partnership between San Diego County; the Mexican Consulate; the University of California, San Diego Health; and six U.S.-owned companies.