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Chinese coups dominate vaccination campaigns in Latin America, the region most affected by the coronavirus, in a victory for Beijing that relies on the supply of fans and protective equipment for its “diplomacy mask” last year.
While Latin America is fighting a deadly third wave of the pandemic, China has shipped more than half of the 143.5 million doses of vaccines delivered to the region’s ten most populous nations, according to a Financial Times analysis of data provided by governments.
Chinese companies, led by Beijing-based Sinovac, have delivered 75.8 million finished doses or key ingredients for doses to these 10 nations so far. The two major Western Latin American suppliers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, have administered doses of 59 million to each other, with some doses of AZ supplied through the World Health Organization’s Covax facilities.
Russia, despite considerable diplomatic noise surrounding its vaccination efforts, has only supplied doses of 8.7 million of its Sputnik jab, mainly to Argentina.
American manufacturers have signed agreements to supply Latin American nations vaccines in the future, but the only major shipments to date to the 10 largest countries in the region from an American manufacturer are those from Pfizer, which has supplied doses of 19.5 million, according to the data.
“There are more Chinese gunshots in Latin America and in some other developing nations,” said Clare Wenham, an assistant professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics. “This reflects global health trends, where we see an increase in Chinese dominance as a health powerhouse.”
Chinese dominance would probably have been even greater had it not been for a recent slowdown in deliveries to Brazil, the region’s largest buyer of vaccines. This came after negative comments about Beijing by President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes sparked suspicion that China was punishing them for their statements.
The Butantan Institute, which fills and finishes China’s CoronaVac vaccine in Brazil, said supplies could run out as early as next week due to China’s shortage of critical ingredients. “Our feeling is that there are difficulties, a bureaucracy that is being slower than usual with very low volume authorizations,” said its leader, Dimas Covas.
Bolsonaro said last week that “no one knows if [coronavirus] was born in the laboratory or by a human being [who] ingested an inappropriate animal. But there it is. The military knows what chemical, bacteriological and radiological warfare is. Are we not facing a new war? Which country grew its GDP the most? ”
Latin American officials have called on the US, the region’s traditional powerhouse, to do more to help. In March, Dominican President Luis Abinader called on President Joe Biden to release U.S. stocks of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“President @JoeBiden, less developed countries and traditional US allies, like the Dominican Republic, have approved the AstraZeneca vaccine and we need it urgently,” he wrote on Twitter.
Paraguay’s foreign minister, who is struggling to gain access to Chinese features because he maintains full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, begged the United States in late March to come to the rescue as the number of Covid-19 cases increased. “What good is the fraternity if they don’t give us an answer now?” Euclides Acevedo asked.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Americas Society conference this week that Washington had shared a $ 4 million dose of vaccine with Canada and Mexico and would share another $ 60 million dose of supply over the next two months, although he did not say with which countries. He highlighted the US $ 2 billion contribution to the Covax facility, which has so far supplied 6.5 million doses to Latin America and its pledge of another $ 2 billion.
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But the U.S. vaccine-sharing offering and Covax deliveries are shrinking by the huge demand for vaccines among the 650 million population in Latin America and the Caribbean. The three most populous nations in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Colombia) are among the countries most affected in the world by the latest wave of the virus.
Wealthier citizens flock north on flights to the U.S. to get vaccinated in cities like Miami, while the poor wait for pours into government programs hampered by a shortage of supplies. Vaccination rates throughout Latin America have lagged behind those in the United States and Europe, with the notable exception of Chile.
Money is not the issue: Latin American governments can afford to buy the vaccines they need. But they have been disadvantaged compared to the United States and Europe, as most of the region’s capacity to manufacture vaccines from scratch has closed in recent decades and moved to lower-cost Asian sites. You should also rely on low imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina have ongoing projects to rebuild the capacity to manufacture or finish domestic vaccines.
“China has long been looking for its soft diplomacy game across the region and Covid has provided the opportunity to be seen in positive light at a time of great need,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Latin American Center of the Atlantic Council. “The United States has the opportunity to overtake China and regain our footing. . . but it must get a dose in Latin America as soon as possible ”.
The U.S. State Department said the Biden administration was working on plans to share doses of AstraZeneca vaccine when they became available. “There is no dose of AstraZeneca to share at this time,” he said.
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