Latin American vaccination campaigns are dominated by Chinese owners
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Chinese coups are dominating vaccination campaigns in Latin America, the region most affected by coronavirus, based on supplies of ventilator and protective equipment that “won diplomacy” for Beijing last year.
While fighting the third deadliest wave in Latin America pandemic, China has sent more than half of the 143.5 million doses of vaccine given to the region’s 10 most populous countries, according to a study of data provided by governments.
Chinese companies, led by Beijing’s Sinovac, have so far delivered 75.8 million doses of essential ingredients to complete or make doses to these 10 nations. Two major western Latin American suppliers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, have delivered 59m doses between them, some doses of AZ supplied through the World Health Organization’s Covax facility.
Russia, despite a lot of diplomatic noise about vaccination efforts, has supplied only 8.7 million doses of Sputnik ownership, mostly to Argentina.
American manufacturers have signed agreements to supply Latin American nations vaccines in the future, but the most important shipments made by a U.S. manufacturer to the top 10 nations in the region are from Pfizer, which has delivered 19.5 million doses according to the data.
“There are more Chinese jabs in arms in Latin America and some other developing countries,” said Clare Wenham, an assistant professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics. “This reflects global health trends. We are seeing China’s dominance as a health power increase.”
China’s dominance would probably be even greater if it weren’t for the recent slowdown in shipments to Brazil to the region’s largest vaccine buyer. This came after President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes made negative comments about Beijing, suspecting that China had punished them for their remarks.
The Butantan Institute, which fills and terminates the CoronaVac vaccine in China in Brazil, said supplies could run out as early as next week due to a shortage of critical components from China. “Our feeling is that there are difficulties, bureaucracy that is slower than usual, with very low volume permits,” said Dimas Covas.
Bolsonaro said this past week that “no one knows [coronavirus] born in the laboratory or by a human being [who] he swallowed the unsuitable animal. But there it is. The military knows what chemical, bacteriological and radiological warfare is. Are we not facing a new war? Which country has grown the most in its GDP? “
Latin American officials have called on the U.S., the traditional regional power, to do more to help. In March, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader called on President Joe Biden to release U.S. stocks of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“President @JoeBiden, a less developed country and a regular ally of the US, like the Dominican Republic, has accepted the AstraZeneca vaccine and we urgently need it,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Paraguayan foreign minister, who is in full swing of diplomatic relations with Taiwan in an effort to secure Chinese firing, called on the U.S. in late March to go to the rescue as the Covid-19 case escalates. “What good is it if the fraternity doesn’t give us an answer now?” Euclid Acevedo asked.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the American Association conference this week that Washington has distributed 4m doses of vaccine to Canada and Mexico and will share another 60m dose from the supply over the next 60 months, though he did not say which country. The U.S. has highlighted a $ 2 billion contribution to Covax’s facilities, which has so far delivered 6.5 million doses to Latin America, and has committed another $ 2 billion.
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But the U.S. offer to share vaccines and Covax’s shipments are a huge demand for vaccines among the 650 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean. The three most populous nations in Latin America – Brazil, Mexico and Colombia – are among the worst countries in the world as a result of the latest wave of the virus.
Wealthier citizens travel north on flights to the U.S. to be vaccinated in cities like Miami, while the poor wait for jab in government programs due to a shortage of supplies. Vaccine rates in Latin America have been delayed in the US and Europe, with notable exceptions Chile.
Money is not an issue: Latin American governments can buy the vaccines they need. But they have had disadvantages over the US 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 locations. Pharmacy should also be based on low imports of active ingredients. There are projects in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina to rebuild the manufacturing or finishing capacity of vaccines.
“China has long sought to achieve smooth diplomacy across the region, and Covide has provided a good opportunity to see it in a positive light in times of great need,” said Jason Marcza, director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin American Center. . “The US has a chance to overtake China and reclaim our bases. . . but it needs to get as many doses to Latin America as possible. “
The U.S. State Department said the Biden administration is working on plans to share doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine when they become available. “There is currently no AstraZeneca dose to share,” he said.
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