In late December 2019, a pandemic of pneumonia was reported in Wuhan, China, causing a global panic, and a second pandemic after winter last year. Due to the frequent and diverse mutations of the virus, it is impossible to grasp the true form of the virus, and people are even worried whether the vaccine currently in place is effective against the mutated virus. The vaccine itself carries considerable risk due to the short Time it takes to develop, and dozens of elderly people have died in Norway as a result of vaccination.
The vaccine has been the subject of subtle geopolitical shifts and has highlighted the unequal distribution of global resources. According to French media reports, the outbreak broke out more than a year ago in Wuhan, China, where authorities have long invested massively in vaccine development, and Xi Jinping has pledged to make “vaccines a global public good,” emphasizing that vaccines are China’s “real contribution to the international community. Ironically, how could China, a kingdom of counterfeiters, pass up the opportunity to make a fortune from the disaster? Some of the fake vaccines sold on the Chinese Internet were priced as high as 498 yuan. Until mid-February, at least 21 cases of fake vaccines alone had been detected. The Xinhua News Agency recently reported that China’s public security forces had uncovered a major case of fake vaccine production and sale, seizing more than 3,000 doses of fake vaccines. The report did not indicate the flow of the fake vaccines, but the Global Times claimed that the fake vaccines mainly went abroad.
Xi Jinping wants to use vaccine diplomacy to save China’s international reputation, but unfortunately, more than just shady Chinese businessmen are selling fake vaccines, and the effectiveness and safety of the Kexing vaccine is so far unconvincing. A few days ago some Philippine lawmakers criticized the government’s decision to buy the Chinese Kexing vaccine. In Malaysia and Singapore, which have ordered vaccines from Kexing, officials have also rushed to assure their citizens that the vaccine will only be approved for use if it is proven to be safe and effective. Kexing’s vaccine has not been published in medical journals for Phase III clinical studies, but the Hong Kong government has exempted Kexing from the condition of publication in academic journals, saying that vaccination is compelling. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and a group of officials took the lead in voluntary vaccination, giving priority to five groups of people to receive the vaccine from February 26, including health care workers, people over 60 years old, elderly and disabled residential care workers, public service and cross-border transport workers.
With the dedication of Hong Kong people as white mice, other countries may follow Hong Kong’s example and administer untested vaccines to their populations. At least 24 countries have signed purchase agreements with Chinese vaccine companies, most of them low- and middle-income countries, as Pfizer and Modena have been ordered out of their vaccines by rich countries, and only Chinese companies have said they can supply them. However, the slow delivery of the Chinese vaccine and its ineffectiveness have made it take longer for these countries to contain the virus.
Taiwan had already finalized the German BioNTech vaccine many months ago, but was later blocked by China. In the past, most of the vaccine purchases were made directly from the manufacturer, and most of the original manufacturers were in Europe and the United States, but this time the vaccine was special because China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals had already started its layout at the early stage of its vaccine development and signed a general agency agreement with BioNTech, so the Asian agency was in the hands of Shanghai Fosun, and without their consent, the BNT vaccine could not be bought. On the surface, this is business, but in reality it is a big country trying to monopolize the vaccine supply. This is why, in addition to the Kexing vaccine, the Hong Kong government has been able to pre-purchase the Chinese Fosun Pharmaceutical and German BioNTech vaccines. In addition to China, the US and EU are also exercising a power monopoly.
Shortly after Biden entered the White House, he announced on January 26 that the U.S. would purchase 100 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and Modena, bringing the total number of doses purchased from 400 million to 600 million; this would allow 300 million Americans to complete two doses of vaccination to create resistance to the virus and beat back the Epidemic. Biden also said that in addition to increasing the number of purchases, it is also necessary to strengthen the transparency of vaccine distribution and storage in local governments such as the states; he has invoked the Defense Production Act to purchase the required vaccination supplies, including syringes.
The EU has recently been controversial due to the issue of vaccine export restrictions, and the World Health Organization has criticized the EU’s approach as potentially leading to the risk of prolonging the epidemic. The European Commission has said that protecting and maintaining the safety of EU citizens is their top priority and challenge, so they have no choice. The EU export restrictions affect 100 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia, but some poorer countries are not subject to the restrictions. Even so, according to WHO Director-General Tandezai, the nationalistic practice of stockpiling vaccines will not only further exacerbate global inequalities and lose moral ground, but also fuel the spread of the epidemic and slow the global economic recovery. However, if Tandezai had tolerated the imperfect vaccines and made a direct request to Xi, the general secretary might have given special instructions to the companies involved to assist.
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