Coronavirus vaccines in South America: within the region’s race to vaccinate against Covid-19

“Latin American countries will fight for vaccines and medical supplies no matter where they come from,” said Parsifal D’Sola, founder and CEO of the Andres Bello Foundation, a think tank dedicated to Sino-Latin American relations. “So far, developed countries have bought more than 50% of the available vaccines, so Latin America is likely to come to China and Russia to fill the gap.”

The Coronavac, manufactured by the Chinese company Sinovac, is already part of the large-scale distribution in Brazil. The Russian vaccine Sputnik V has been adopted by several countries, including Argentina and Bolivia. But broadly speaking, the regional vaccine administration is disorderly and uneven, with no coordinated approach, and it remains to be seen how the pandemic could shape the future diplomatic relationship between South America and the rest of the world.

As Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin American program at the Wilson Center political forum in Washington, told CNN, South American countries “have rarely been so disunited and have not been able to forge common strategies.”

This is where their vaccination campaigns now stand out:

Argentina

The left-wing government of Alberto Fernandez was one of the first in the world to get orders for the Sputnik V vaccine developed by Russia.

In December, the Aerolineas Argentinas flag tweeted live about a special flight to Moscow to collect the first doses, a sign of how close collaboration with Russia in Buenos Aires looks.

Argentina has also secured orders from other manufacturers for a total of nearly 50 million doses, according to the database of vaccine purchase agreements from Duke University.

All vaccines given so far have been from Russia.

Brazil

Brazil has been one of the most affected by the coronavirus in the world, and its vaccine saga has become ugly, with state governors criticizing the federal government for lack of coordination and President Jair Bolsonaro questioning vaccines.

Compared to its neighbors, Brazil has a strong vaccine manufacturing capacity. However, experts say the country lagged behind in the race to buy active ingredients to produce them.

Now, the country’s best hope is the Chinese Coronavac vaccine, an ironic result given signs of Bolsonaro’s hostility toward China. More than 2 million doses have already been dispensed in Brazil, by far the highest number in the region.

Bolivia

Bolivia experienced a change of power in November when left-wing President Luis Arce replaced Jeanine Añez.

While awaiting the first doses of COVAX assigned to Bolivia, Arce has secured at least 20,000 doses of Russian vaccine, which arrived in Bolivia on 28 January.

The purchase points to closer relations with Russia and Argentina, where President Fernandez is a close ally of Maple and his predecessor Evo Morales.

Chile

Public data from Duke University show that Chile previously purchased vaccines from Western manufacturers AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, but the largest order was placed for Coronavac of China. China is already Chile’s largest economic partner.

Despite ordering more than 90 million doses of vaccine for a population of less than 20 million people, Chile’s vaccination program has yet to catch steam. So far less than 70,000 people have been vaccinated.

Colombia

Colombia is the largest South American country that has not yet begun vaccinating.

President Ivan Duque responded to critics by saying the country relied primarily on the COVAX mechanism and promised that vaccinations would begin on February 20th.

Colombia, the U.S.’s closest ally in the region, did not buy vaccines directly from any of Russia, but recently announced a small purchase of China-made Coronavac.

Ecuador

Last month, this Andean country began its vaccination program using the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Like other countries in the region, he is looking forward to the COVAX mechanism starting to administer doses.

On Sunday, Ecuador holds presidential elections. Left-wing candidate Andres Arauz has harshly criticized the government’s handling of the crisis and says that if elected, it will secure millions more doses from China and Russia via Argentina.

Guyana and Suriname

Neither has started vaccinating, but the impact of the pandemic has been minor, with fewer than 10,000 cases in each.

Both should receive doses through COVAX.

Paraguay

The only landlocked country in South America is a case study for vaccine diplomacy.

Paraguay does not maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing and has recognized Taiwan, which China claims, as the legitimate Republic of China.

Last year, a group of lawmakers filed a motion in the Senate to change recognition in favor of Beijing, hoping to receive more medical supplies to curb the pandemic. Voting did not take place.

Paraguay has not yet received a single dose of vaccine, but expects more than 4 million doses using COVAX.

Peru

Like neighboring Colombia, Peru has not yet received a dose. Both countries hope to be among the first to receive COVAX vaccines, but Peru has also taken advantage of the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm to increase its arsenal.

In total, Peru expects more than 50 million doses, in part thanks to vaccine trials it conducted last year to provide valuable data to manufacturers.

Uruguay

After Venezuela, Uruguay has the lowest number of deaths recorded by Covid-19 per million people in South America. The government has orders with Pfizer and Sinovac, although it expects nearly 2 million doses through COVAX.

One of the smallest countries in the region, Uruguay, has already started vaccinating.

President Lacalle Pou has lamented what he called “an impressive trade war” over vaccines.

Venezuela

On paper, Venezuela is the South American country least affected by the pandemic.

However, strong doubts remain about the ability of the government of President Nicolas Maduro, confronted, to effectively monitor cases in the country.

Maduro announced that Venezuela would receive vaccines from its traditional allies Russia and China as early as October, but no vaccination campaign has yet been established.

Maduro has also been waiting to receive the Cuban vaccine Sovereign 01, which is still under development.

In January, COVAX membership in Venezuela was blocked due to non-payment, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Cynthia Arnson’s last name.

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