Vaccine apartheid and the trouble with dating an anti-lockdown conspiracy theorist
Welcome to the Infodemic and a special welcome to our many new subscribers! We are tracking how disinformation surrounding the coronavirus crisis is reshaping our lives. Below are the narratives, both real and fake, that have grabbed our attention and deserve yours.
Russia and China are racing ahead of the West in terms of global vaccine distribution — and scoring diplomatic points along the way. This week President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan was the latest leader to get on the phone with Xi Jinping and then praise him for offering help to access immunizations. (Tajikistan has not received any actual vaccines yet). Meanwhile, several current and former officials from Latin American countries talked to Reuters, comparing the challenges of negotiating with multinational pharmaceutical companies to the ease of buying vaccines directly from Sputnik V suppliers.
Russian and Chinese vaccines are likely to generate more noise than immunity, as their overseas shipments tend to be very small, according to Axios. That’s not always true. Take Serbia: China sent 1.5 million doses to Belgrade enabling the government to vaccinate 11.4% of the population, ahead of every country in Europe except the UK. Chile has powered ahead of the rest of Latin America thanks to 4 million Chinese shots, 2.7 million of which have already been administered.
While China and Russia are receiving plaudits, Pfizer has been accused of “bullying” Latin American governments in vaccine negotiations and causing delays. (For details see this excellent report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.) The Biden administration did, of course, commit $4 billion to the global Covax program, but these days vaccines, not dollars, are the currency and the West simply does not have enough to give.