With so little known about the Chinese vaccines, the strategy of ‘vaccine diplomacy’ could come back to haunt Beijing.
Crates containing Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccines are unloaded from a Chinese Airforce plane upon arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on February 28, 2021 in Manila, Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte witnessed the arrival of 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech vaccines donated by the Chinese government. Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
Everything about Indonesia’s first Covid-19 inoculation was choreographed for the cameras. Sitting in front of flowers and a red sign that read “Vaccine: Safe and Halal,” Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, slowly rolled up his white shirt sleeve as the medical professional next to him held up a small box to the assembled audience. The box, which contained the president’s vaccine dose, was embossed with a single, Chinese brand: Sinovac.
It was January, and with Indonesia’s C
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