Unable to get vaccines in the US, the world turns to Russia and China

Although the Biden government topped the list of COVAX donors with a $ 2 billion commitment, the project still lacks $ 800 million of what it needs to achieve its goal of vaccinating 2 billion people in 2021. This reality financial, along with China, Russia and India gaining most of the first vaccine donation headlines, means that it may take months for US stocks to increase in the developing world.

In the meantime, the race to overcome new variants of the virus continues. In the coming weeks, COVAX must deliver vaccines to all participating economies to ensure that those most at risk are protected, wherever they live, ”said Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, an alliance that works to vaccinate the world’s children, and a key supporting COVAX.

European countries and the United States are bound to manage a health crisis and a political crisis: namely, the legitimate demand of their citizens to be vaccinated first.

Free from democratic pressure, Beijing can extend more charity and intensify its vaccine diplomacy. Russia, on the other hand, is free to do global business for a different reason: the Kremlin is struggling to convince Russians to use its home vaccine.

But today’s top donors – while reaping the first public relations wins – are unlikely to be able to match COVAX’s growth until 2021.

China and Russia face domestic challenges

For China, the barriers are the effectiveness of its vaccines (only 50% in some tests) and Beijing’s need to eventually vaccinate its own population of 1.4 billion – 97% of whom have not received a vaccine.

Although the Russian Sputnik vaccine is 95 percent effective, it is already experiencing production problems in 15 locations around the world.

The Indian government – echoing the EU – is concerned that it miscalculated with initial generosity and blocked its main manufacturer, the Serum Institute to follow a plan to send 50% of its production abroad, according to the Serum Institute’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla.

Colombia’s vaccine business and schedule illustrates how the balance of global vaccine distribution is likely to shift.

In the fight to vaccinate the world, countries like China and Russia are trying to use vaccine sales and donations to boost their position on the global stage.

The country has started vaccinating its population with China’s Sinovac and expects to receive 2.5 million doses by the end of March. But from the end of March, COVAX will start to become the main supplier of vaccines to Colombia, said a government spokesman. Bilateral agreements with four Western vaccine manufacturers – Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – will deliver the other 39 million doses that Colombia has ordered.

For now, Chinese and Russian vaccines are attractive to many governments simply because they are available.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán bought Chinese and Russian vaccines – much to the annoyance of other EU leaders. He said in a February 22 interview with Focus magazine that his obligation is to obtain “as many vaccines as possible, as soon as possible”.

“There is no eastern or western vaccine: there are only good vaccines and bad vaccines,” said Orbán, who gained prominence and power as an anti-communist arsonist, adding that “under communism, we were vaccinated with Soviet vaccines as children; and, as you can see, we’re fine. “

Balkan Trojan Horse

Other countries, including neighboring Serbia, are making political statements about their access to Chinese and Russian vaccines.

China and Russia have long sought to exert influence in the Western Balkans, through loans and investments in energy, finance and infrastructure. Rejected by the EU – which halted accession discussions with Serbia – the country stopped receiving China’s “mask diplomacy” in 2020 to become a Trump-style deal. “I wrote to Xi Jinping in October and the price has been reduced dramatically,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the local media, proud to have circumvented the typical conditions associated with EU funding and aid.

Today, Serbia’s 15% vaccination rate exceeds that of all EU countries, thanks mainly to Chinese and Russian vaccines. The Serbian government said in a statement that it is trying to “act responsibly” and has donated vaccines from Pfizer and Sputnik to neighboring countries “so far unable to acquire vaccines on the world market”.

The tiny nation of Seychelles (population 98,000) suffered only a single death from Covid-19, but is already the recipient of 150,000 doses of free vaccine – donations from India and the United Arab Emirates. The authorities vaccinated two-thirds of the population: more than any country except Israel.

The ropes may come later: India is looking to establish a military presence there, to maintain control over China’s activities in the Indian Ocean. The Seychelles parliament has already rejected India’s openings once; the question is whether residents will feel different after the free Indian vaccines.

From collectors to donors

Western countries are accused of accumulating vaccines: in some cases, as in Canada, the government has bought about seven doses for each person. These contracts are insurance policies – a national version of the COVAX system, in which a government spreads its bets on vaccines and expects them to be approved for sufficient use so that they do not fall short. If the government bets well, it will have millions of surplus doses to share with other countries. COVAX members are encouraged to “gift” unused excess doses back to other members, rather than selling them.

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China and Russia face domestic challenges

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