Over the course of the last few months, the amount of available COVID-19 vaccines globally has grown exponentially. Even so, there are vast country-by-country disparities in vaccine availability and access. The United States, with three FDA approved vaccines, is currently engaged in a race to vaccinate as many citizens as possible, as quickly as possible. At the same time, other countries have approached vaccination very differently, using their vaccine stockpiles to garner goodwill with other countries in conjunction with distributing vaccines to their own citizens. President Joe Biden’s reaction to these “vaccine diplomacy” policies has primarily been focused on increasing American production. Notably, though Biden discussed aiding other countries in their vaccine distribution, there was minimal mention of improving initial access to the vaccine beyond U.S. borders until recently. In the last month, Biden started exporting parts of the U.S. stockpile of the AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries, after global concern that the vaccine was linked to the rare development of blood clots. In order to be globally conscious and strategic, the Biden administration needs to work towards a middle ground between focusing on American distribution while also supporting other countries' development and access to safe Covid-19 vaccines. 

Before Biden’s inauguration in January, U.S. strategy primarily to increase domestic vaccine production, distribution, and overall access. Former president Donald Trump fiercely opposed suggestions of exporting U.S. vaccines or lending other countries some of the stockpile, arguing that with limited vaccines, it was more important to distribute them to Americans than to other citizens. Biden’s policy standpoint represents a break from Trump’s precedent. Biden has encouraged programs focused on increasing access and distribution in other countries, while, importantly, still keeping the exportation of U.S. doses off the table until recently, when he declared the United States would begin to distribute its stockpile of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada. 

Through the course of vaccine production and development, other countries have opposite strategies. Russia has made foreign vaccine distribution a focal point of its strategy. In selling 24 million doses to Mexico and 250 million doses to India while also providing vaccines to other EU countries like Slovakia, Russia made its strategy clear: sharing doses with other countries represents a calculated expansion of its sphere of influence. Because of this, vaccine exportation has become a way to build soft power through diplomacy across the globe. Meanwhile, African countries are stuck in a waiting game. Enrolled in the WHO’s COVAX program, they are relying on European suppliers for their vaccine distribution. 

While science can be a tool for helping others, it can also be an important component of political influence and international relations. From a humanitarian perspective, a country’s involvement with global vaccine distribution is generally seen as an act of goodwill, especially when their own people are equally in need of such vaccines. However, some countries have reacted with distrust towards too much generosity, especially because there is still dispute over the efficacy of the Russian vaccine and fears of major side effects with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Independent of these reactions, there is also concern about what these donors will ask for down the line. 

From a global perspective, the United States’ policy of stockpiling vaccines until health concerns with the vaccines arise is questionable. If the United States wants to become meaningfully involved in the Space Race 2.0 of vaccine diplomacy, it needs to take a stronger stance towards global distribution—not just distribution of vaccines that have serious health concerns associated with them. The Biden administration needs to work towards a middle ground between focusing on American distribution and vaccination, while also maintaining U.S. presence in the international policy sphere in the context of vaccines.