I think you underestimate a populations capacity for compassion. This is why (some) European countries took on millions of refugees in the last ten years. It‘s also why Romania donated some of their vaccines to Moldova - donated mind you, not loaned.
There‘s also the aspect of soft power. China and Russia are playing this particularly well right now, supplying other nations faster than their own population. This will buy them influence for decades to come.
> This is why (some) European countries took on millions of refugees in the last ten years.
I don't really view this as much in the way of compassion. It's more like that the E.U. is getting old and not having babies and they need more people to pay taxes. It's also counter-productive from a global perspective. You have to fix the reasons these people migrate in the first place.
> China and Russia are playing this particularly well right now, supplying other nations faster than their own population.
Are they? Do you have a link? I saw from the New York Times tracker that China has vaccinated 74 million of their own citizens. Are you saying they've sent more vaccines to the rest of the world than the 74 million they've used on their own? If so color me impressed.
Your point about the vaccine being supplied to other countries is certainly well taken - but the idea that the U.S. and U.K. won't be supplying vaccines (Vaccine Diplomacy) to buy influence as well or in counter moves to Russian and Chinese influence would be naive.
I think a lot of people are suffering from Trump hangover. The U.S. is quickly getting things back together.
Up-to-date data is hard to come by, especially for China I couldn‘t find much concrete.
Russia (based on an article from March 7th: https://www.google.de/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/wire...) had vaccinated 4 million people domestically and exported 2.5 million doses to Argentina, 325k to Hungary and 200k to Mexico. There have been many other other exports reported but most without a concrete number.
> Your point about the vaccine being supplied to other countries is certainly well taken - but the idea that the U.S. and U.K. won't be supplying vaccines (Vaccine Diplomacy) to buy influence as well or in counter moves to Russian and Chinese influence would be naive.
I‘m sure they will. But not before elate summer. And, to exaggerate, people won‘t forget if their grandma died of COVID while college kids were vaccinated in the US.
> And, to exaggerate, people won‘t forget if their grandma died of COVID while college kids were vaccinated in the US.
Likewise, Americans who pay taxes and live in America and expect America to defend them and guard their welfare and safety won't forget if their college kid dies of COVID-19 because the government shipped vaccines overseas and they couldn't get one.
If you don't like that and want to criticize the nation state system ok that's fine. Start with some other country like China, or Brazil, or Israel. People won't forget that China already vaccinated 74 million of its own people when people in (insert country) died!
> Are they? Do you have a link? I saw from the New York Times tracker that China has vaccinated 74 million of their own citizens. Are you saying they've sent more vaccines to the rest of the world than the 74 million they've used on their own? If so color me impressed.
12 millon Sinovac doses have been shipped to Chile so far.
There‘s also the aspect of soft power. China and Russia are playing this particularly well right now, supplying other nations faster than their own population. This will buy them influence for decades to come.