Although Chinese vaccine distributors did make a few deliveries on Tuesday, the quantities remain significantly lower than in previous weeks. It’s not entirely clear what’s behind the slowdown but it’s likely that it could be related to the impending verdict by the World Health Organization about granting emergency use approval to both Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.
What could be happening, and this is speculation, is that Chinese vaccine distributors and manufacturers are expecting a favorable decision from the WHO, and so they’ve slowed deliveries now in order to stockpile for what will likely be enormous future demand. With clearance from the WHO, Chinese vaccines will no longer be distributed just bilaterally, but also multilaterally through Covax and other mechanisms.
