Korea and global COVID vaccinations
March 31, 2021
On March 30, Korea Times published an op-ed from KEI’s Senior Director Troy Stangarone that spotlighted a space where South Korea can play a larger role on the global stage. He notes that the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (United States, India, Australia, and Japan) recently pledged to help provide vaccines to countries in the Indo-Pacific as part of an effort to counter China’s own vaccine diplomacy. But these Quad nations alone will not be able to vaccinate the region, let alone the world. As of March 22, only 5.88 individuals per 100 globally had received a vaccine dose. At this rate, the op-ed notes that some countries may not be able to reach that level until 2022 or 2023. Here, Troy Stangarone argues, South Korea can play an important role in helping vaccinate the world and minimize the risk of a deadlier variant of COVID-19 developing.
Read the full article here.