Abstract. The article presents current estimates of vaccine diplomacy trends at the end of 2021 against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. A brief theoretical understanding of the term is given, the specifics of this form of diplomacy, the special role of China in this field in 2020–2021 are shown, and the main tools of vaccine diplomacy are listed. The case of successful implementation and distribution of the Russian vaccine in the context of the overall development of the Russian and global pharmaceutical industry is studied, assessments of the prospects of industry development are given, it is shown that already in 2022 we should expect a decline in investor interest in vaccination and growth in the number of attempts to commercialize other technological innovations that appeared in the industry during the pandemic.