From Africa to Asia to the Americas and Even Europe, Countries Scramble for Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccines

Countries across the Global South and now even in Europe scrambled this weekend to source COVID-19 vaccines from pretty much anywhere they could buy them — which in many cases brought them to China’s doorstep.

Amid widespread shortages, the European Union on Friday blocked some vaccine exports, further escalating concerns in poorer countries that it will be even more difficult to buy vaccines for their populations. China, for its part, is moving fast to fill the void, shipping tens of millions of doses to countries all over the world.

Last week’s tensions with India over a purported “vaccine rivalry” seemed to have subsided in recent days, as both Asian powers are finding plenty of demand for their respective jabs.

China Vaccine Headlines From Europe and the Global South

AFRICA: Morocco launched a mass vaccination drive on Friday using both Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines. The Kingdom plans to innoculate 6,000 health professionals in the next several weeks. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

PERSIAN GULF: Dubai launched a mass vaccination drive on Sunday using Sinopharm’s vaccine. All residents in the Emirate are now eligible. Dubai’s decision to deploy a Chinese-made vaccine comes one month after authorities in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi did so, also using Sinopharm. (REUTERS)

AMERICAS: Colombia joined the growing list of countries this weekend to procure Chinese-made vaccines, after officials in Bogota closed a deal with Sinovac to secure 2.5 million doses. Colombia, like a number of developing countries, is sourcing its vaccines from a number of suppliers including AstraZeneca, the Covax alliance, and, now, China. (REUTERS)

EUROPE: Hungary became the first European Union country on Friday to purchase vaccines from China. Budapest said it will buy 5 million doses from Sinopharm that will be used to innoculate about a quarter of the population. Neighboring Serbia, not an EU member, is the only other European state to buy Chinese-made vaccines. (REUTERS)

The key takeaway from these developments is that China, India, and Russia are all rapidly filling a gaping void left by the United States and Europe as a source of vaccines. With both the U.S. and Europe afflicted by severe vaccine production and distribution woes, there’s no indication that either will emerge soon to rival the emerging powers in this field.