Large shipments of vaccines imported from China landed in North Africa over the weekend, providing some countries with their first jabs needed to kick off national inoculation programs in the region:
- BENIN: An unknown quantity of Chinese-made Sinovac vaccines arrived in Cotonou on Sunday evening. (XINHUA)
- NIGER: President Mahamadou Issoufou took delivery on Sunday of 400,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by China. Niger will kick off its first vaccination campaign next week. (REUTERS)
- EGYPT: A second shipment of 300,000 Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Cairo on Saturday. Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said the shipment was a gift from Beijing. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
- UGANDA: President Yoweri Museveni is reportedly going to sue the Daily Monitor after the newspaper refused to apologize for referencing a WSJ report that claimed the president and his inner circle were vaccinated with Chinese jabs before everyone. (VOA NEWS)
International Vaccine Competition With China Intensifies as the U.S. Enters the Game With Its Own “Dose Diplomacy”
The U.S. government formally entered the COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy arena with word that Washington will loan millions of doses of AstraZeneca to neighboring Mexico and Canada. Currently, AstraZeneca’s vaccines are not approved for use in the U.S. and will be repaid by both countries at a later date.
