Vaccine diplomacy

The world faces the fourth wave of COVID-19 divided and blind. As vaccination campaigns accelerate across Europe and the United States, 130 countries in the world have not yet received a dose of the vaccine. The total population of these countries is 2.5 billion people. It is time for the manufacture not only of vaccines but also new concepts. The latter is “vaccine diplomacy”.

The three vaccine powers at the moment are Russia, China and India, who have developed anti-COVID vaccines with some success, thus revealing their capacity for innovation and production in the field of health and challenging traditional players. However, the vaccination rate of their own populations is very low compared to many countries. According to Bloomberg, just 4.1% of Indians, 4% of Russians and 6% of Chinese had received at least one dose as of yesterday, April 14.

On the other hand, to practice vaccine diplomacy, they are following different forms of pressure according to the opponent. India and China are currently the only two producing countries that donate vaccines. Vaccination diplomacy in New Delhi focuses on Asia, where it competes with China. Mauritius and the Seychelles have also received Indian shipments. Countries receiving donations are neither the most affected by the pandemic nor the poorest.

Russia, on the other hand, prefers to sell its vaccine. It has found several clients on the African continent: Algeria, Tunisia and Guinea. The African Union has also requested doses from Moscow. No delivery has yet been made thanks to this African mechanism.

The United States has ensured that all adults in the United States will receive their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May. That is, 400 million people will be vaccinated before the end of July. That’s why it’s no surprise that the new term “vaccine diplomacy” comes from the psychology of fear in the United States and the West. Many countries have asked the United States to provide COVID-19 vaccines, but the U.S. government has not provided the vaccine to any other country. Joe Biden‘s adviser Jen Psaki explained: “Our priority is to ensure that the American people are vaccinated. After completing our residents’ vaccinations, we will actively contribute to the international community.” In the face of a community of common destiny for humanity, this rhetoric is painful. 

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