MEA's vaccine diplomacy flunks, China cashes in on it

NEW DELHI: India's much-hyped 'vaccine diplomacy' has fallen apart after the country failed to send the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to many of the beneficiary countries which had received the first dose.

The Ministry of External Affairs which initiated the programme 'vaccine maitri' to showcase India's humanitarian approach even as it is an aspirational power, has lost face since the virulent second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.

The government had to suspend the programme as it grappled with shortage of vaccines at home amidst rising Covid-19 cases and related fatalities. As a result, India has been forced to seek foreign medical aid from the US, EU, UAE, Singapore and even the Chinese Red Cross. Domestically, the opposition parties criticised External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for giving away the vaccine to foreign countries when it was severely required at home.

The CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, whose young son Ashish died due to Covid-19 complications, attributed the rise in Covid-19 related deaths and shortage of the vaccines. "In a country where we had successful mass vaccination drives, 'vaccine diplomacy' and refusal to place timely purchase orders landed us in this gigantic human tragedy," he tweeted. (IANS)

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