India’s Smart Vaccine Diplomacy

As countries scramble to secure Covid-19 vaccines, ugly expressions like "vaccine race" and "vaccine nationalism" have entered the global lexicon. But, at a time when global cooperation in sharing vaccines is minimal, and the World Health Organization's vaccine-distribution plans are yet to get off the ground, India has taken a different tack, quietly pursuing "vaccine diplomacy." Its "Vaccine Maitri" (Vaccine Friendship) campaign has shipped hundreds of thousands of Indian-made Covishield vaccines, manufactured under license from Oxford-AstraZeneca, to some 60 countries.