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Coronavirus: more China vaccines out for delivery as world scrambles for shots
- Shipments include some donations made as part of Beijing’s ‘vaccine diplomacy’
- US think tank says China is using a bigger share of doses at home than its case burden
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Three more countries have said they are expecting deliveries of Chinese coronavirus vaccines this month as health authorities around the world scramble for supplies.
Bolivia, the Philippines and Hungary confirmed on Thursday they would receive shipments of hundreds of thousands of doses from China in February.
Mexico also said it had received its biggest batch yet, with a delivery of active ingredients for 2 million doses from China’s CanSino Biologics, while Serbia received half a million doses from state-owned Sinopharm on Wednesday, adding to a million delivered last month.
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The announcements come as poorer countries struggle to get access to shots. According to the World Health Organization, three-quarters of the 128 million doses administered worldwide by Wednesday were in 10 countries, which together accounted for 60 per cent of global GDP.
The WHO called on leaders “to look beyond their borders” and share vaccines through the WHO’s global vaccine distribution platform, known as Covax, which aims to vaccinate those most at risk of Covid-19 at the same time, no matter where they live.
02:27
Erdogan gets jab as Turkey rolls out coronavirus vaccine campaign with China’s Sinovac
Erdogan gets jab as Turkey rolls out coronavirus vaccine campaign with China’s Sinovac
At least 337 million vaccines are expected to be delivered worldwide through the programme in the first half of the year, with roll-out projected to start later this month.
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