Globally, there’s an intense race to secure COVID-19 vaccines, with many countries going to great lengths to curry favor with Beijing and Moscow to secure millions of doses to help overcome the pandemic.
As Western manufacturers struggle to meet demand for vaccines, Russia, China and India have been strategically donating or selling vaccines to dozens of countries to use them as diplomatic leverage.
China and India are ramping up coronavirus vaccine exports, as more than 15 countries have given regulatory approval for their vaccines for general use. The Chinese Olympic Committee has offered vaccines for Olympic and Paralympic participants in the Tokyo Games, but Chinese vaccines have not been granted approval for use in Japan.