London, Shanghai | The global race to nail down a vaccine for COVID-19 is picking up pace, intensifying the competition between insecure world powers that are desperate to score a critical victory in their ever-widening geopolitical contest.

US company Moderna and British player AstraZeneca both announced potential breakthroughs in the past week, and China's Sinovac is also clearing hurdles at pace. The big powers – the US, China, Britain and Europe – are all racing against the clock not just to develop a vaccine that might help life return to normal, but to get there first.