Outbreaks in countries using Chinese vaccines don't necessarily mean the shots failed

[superadmin]

Why Covid-19 outbreaks in countries using Chinese vaccines don't necessarily mean the shots have failed

Hong Kong and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (CNN)In Mongolia, hospitals are overwhelmed. In the tiny archipelago of Seychelles, more than 100 new Covid-19 cases are being reported each day. And in Chile, a nationwide lockdown was lifted this week -- but the country is still reporting thousands of daily cases.

What links these countries is that they have each fully inoculated more than 50% of their populations, largely with Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines. And that's raised questions over the vaccines' efficacy.

If the Chinese vaccines aren't working, that's a huge problem -- and not just from a health perspective. Beijing has staked its reputation on providing other countries with vaccines.

As Western nations stockpiled supplies for their own populations, China sent vaccines overseas -- in June, the foreign ministry announced the country had delivered more than 350 million Covid-19 doses to more than 80 countries. That mission highlighted inadequate Western efforts at a time when tensions between China and many major democracies were running high.

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