Opinion | Covid-19 vaccine visas risk dividing the world into East vs West ‘vaccine blocs’
- If more countries follow China in tying entry to specific vaccines, the existing vaccine ‘spheres of influence’ could easily coalesce into opposing blocs
- To avert this dystopian outcome, the world must adopt universal vaccine approval and efficacy standards, and develop robust antibody tests
There has been no clear explanation of Beijing’s decision, although some reasonable grounds can be inferred, such as consistency with domestic regulatory standards, equal standards for citizens and foreigners, and doctors’ familiarity with specific vaccines, which means they are better able to predict and manage effectiveness and side effects.
Some have suggested that Beijing’s decision could pressure other countries into approving or deploying Chinese-made vaccines, benefitting China in commercial, diplomatic or scientific prestige terms. While these cannot be ruled that, China will not be alone in entertaining these considerations.
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China relaxes visa rules for foreigners inoculated with Chinese-made vaccines
Worse, countries might feel emboldened to escalate their responses. What started as “easier entry with Vaccine X” can rapidly escalate to “entry only with Vaccine X”. In a vicious circle of retaliatory measures, restrictions on individuals could expand to entire companies or countries.