In the midst of a global vaccine shortage Russia and China are sharing their vaccines with the world, this is “propaganda” according to the French, who are prioritizing their own population
Rabat – France is accusing China and Russia of “vaccine propaganda” for sharing their vaccines with the world instead of hoarding the doses like the West. The EU and US are prioritizing its own populations first, blocking or limiting exports to the rest of the world.
The approach taken by Russia and China, which provides a lifeline to desperate governments around the world, amounts to “propaganda” according to France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Sharing vaccines with the world is “a means of propaganda and aggressive diplomacy” stated Le Drian.
The French official highlighted the UN COVAX program as a viable alternative to vaccines from non-Western countries, yet many governments, including Morocco, continue to rely on Russia, China, and India to supply them with vaccines.
The West’s approach, which Politico described as “America First” and “Europe First” has led to Western countries rapidly outperforming the rest of the world in vaccination rates. It appears that the rest of the world is expected to wait in line for handouts from the COVAX program that aims to distribute 337 million doses in the first half of 2021.
With billions of people waiting to be vaccinated, Russia and China are “filling in the gaps,” which French President Emmanuel Macron described as a “new type of world war.”
For most countries around the world Russia and China are the only viable sources for vaccines.
Particularly low and middle income countries have been left to wait while the world’s richest countries use their clout over vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical companies to keep vaccines in the West.
Dozens of countries are now using vaccines produced in China and Russia, including some European countries.
Morocco faces the same dilemma as many countries around the world. The government has opted to find its own supply of vaccines from the East instead of solely depending on programs like COVAX. Still, Morocco is “at the mercy” of vaccine producing countries according to Dr Mustapha Ennaji who is part of the council overseeing Morocco’s vaccination campaign.
Ennaji told Morocco World News that vaccine hoarding could mean that Morocco’s supply of the British-Swedish Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine could be under threat, prompting the country to diversify its supply by using vaccines produced in China and Russia.
