U.S. diplomats serving in countries with poor medical infrastructure and high coronavirus infection rates are venting frustrations about the way top officials in Washington are distributing the vaccines for the virus, according to meeting notes, interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Post.
Vaccine shortages cause strain for U.S. diplomats
A lingering complaint among some U.S. diplomats is their belief that the vaccine distribution disproportionately favors U.S. personnel in Washington and New York at the expense of diplomats in dozens of at-risk countries.
By John HudsonThe Washington Post
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WASHINGTON U.S. diplomats serving in countries with poor medical infrastructure and high coronavirus infection rates are venting frustrations about the way top officials in Washington are distributing the vaccines for the virus, according to meeting notes, interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The limited supply of the vaccines has forced State Department leaders to make difficult and unenviable decisions, and has created humbling experiences for U.S. diplomats representing the world’s wealthiest country.
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“What qualifies you to be the US ambassador to our country?” a blunt question was asked in 2009 by the head of the Liberal Party in Sweden of a U.S. Ambassador newly arrived in country, Matthew Barzun, who had been a major fundraiser for President Obama. As the embassy number two accompanying the ambassador, one of the authors jumped in and deflected the question.
This leader of Sweden was reflecting feelings that, in our experience, are often widely shared by friendly governments and publics in countries that get campaign donors and fundraisers as the U.S. ambassador. They don’t like being treated as a prize in the U.S. spoils system. They send professional diplomats not campaign donors to represent their countries in Washington.