Asia - South

Vietnam aims to obtain 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year, including 30 million through the COVAX international vaccine-share scheme, 30 million from AstraZeneca and the rest from negotiations with Pfizer.

In December, Taiwan said it had agreed to buy almost 20 million vaccine doses, including 10 million from AstraZeneca and 4.76 million doses from the COVAX global vaccine programme.

While most governments try to stockpile COVID-19 vaccines, India is giving millions of doses to neighboring countries as a 'vaccine maitri' or vaccine friendship. Is it altruism or could geopolitical motivations be at play?

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly sparred with the island over the coronavirus pandemic.

As well as inoculating its population, India hopes it can boost its soft power by sharing its Covid-19 vaccines with the developing world.

Hong Kong’s government said in early February that it was exempting Chinese drug maker Sinovac from publishing results of its third phase clinical trials in medical journals due to the “urgency” for vaccination.

Having reported the world’s second-highest number of COVID-19 cases after the United States, India wants to innoculate 300 million people - a fifth of its population - against the virus by August.

Pakistan, largely reliant on the GAVI/WHO COVAX initiative for poorer nations, has also allowed private companies to import coronavirus vaccines and has agreed to exempt such imports from price caps.

The decision is significant as Pakistan, a nation of 220 million, has yet to secure substantive volumes of vaccines from any company and only this month launched a vaccination drive with 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine donated by long-time ally China.

A nation of 220 million, Pakistan has become 22nd country to approve Sputnik V, said a statement from Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad.

India, with the highest number of infections after the United States, has yet to detect the South African variant and will continue to use the vaccine in an inoculation drive that has covered 6.3 million front-line workers since Jan. 16.

Modi is using India’s strength as the world’s biggest maker of vaccines for various diseases to improve regional ties and push back against China’s political and economic dominance.

The ministry has decided to authorize the drug under the condition of submission of the third clinical trial results.

North Korea has not reported a single case of COVID-19 till date, according to the WHO website.

Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention, with only 71 active cases, but it has not yet received any vaccines.