The world turns to China for vaccines as Covid-19 crisis deepens in India

 Over the past few weeks, leaders of some of the globe's most populous nations have sought more shots from China despite concerns about their effectiveness

The world is fast becoming ever more reliant on China for vaccines, with India’s raging virus outbreak stifling its ability to deliver on supply deals, even as the U.S. tries to position itself as a champion of wider access.

Over the past few weeks, leaders of some of the globe’s most populous nations have sought more shots from China despite concerns about their effectiveness. Demand is expected to rise even further if the World Health Organization, as expected, authorizes vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd., allowing developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to access them through Covax, the global vaccination effort.

“China has become not just the largest exporter,” said Yanzhong Huang, a China specialist and senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. “In many countries, it has become the only option.”

China’s reliability as a vaccine supplier is increasing its geopolitical clout at a time when the U.S. and the EU have been slow confronting the global pandemic as Covid hot spots rage out of control in India, Brazil, and elsewhere. Compounding the difficulties, India’s crisis has dried up vaccine supplies and prompted many countries to turn toward China. Amid this backdrop, the U.S., for months preoccupied with its domestic vaccination push, has come under intense criticism for hoarding shots at the expense of a global response.