COVID-19: US-China rivalry snarls Paraguay’s quest for jabs
Bloomberg
As poor nations struggle to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, a thinly-populated South American country finds its chances linked to its unexpected role in growing tensions between the US and China.
Paraguay’s 63-year-old alliance with Taiwan — forged when both were run by authoritarian governments — means the government cannot directly buy from China’s vaccine makers that have supplied other Latin American nations.
Officials say they have been approached to switch to Beijing to get the doses.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez to stiffen his spine against such a shift.