Unable to get U.S. vaccines, world turns to Russia and China

But the lead enjoyed by India, China and Russia in so-called vaccine diplomacy is set to evaporate in coming weeks.

Several Western vaccines preordered by dozens of governments are now close to authorization, including from Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and GSK-Curevac — tilting future global distribution of vaccines toward Western options.

The COVAX vaccine facility — which pools financial resources and spreads its bets across vaccine candidates — has handed over the first of 337 million doses it has allocated to around 130 countries for the first half of the year. COVAX receives around 90 percent of its funds from G-7 countries and the EU, but none from China, India or Russia.