The Biden administration has said that it will distribute urgently needed resources to India as it fights a deadly surge in COVID-19 infections. On Monday, both, President Joe Biden and Vice President (VP) Kamala Harris assured the Indian government of their support. “Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,” Biden said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Harris said that the government was working “closely” with Indian counterparts to “rapidly deploy additional support and supplies during an alarming COVID-19 outbreak.” “As we provide assistance, we pray for the people of India—including its courageous healthcare workers,” she added.
The statements come amid a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in India, coupled with extreme shortages in oxygen supply. Simultaneously, Washington is also under pressure to release its excess stockpile of vaccines to countries that need it and more broadly to loosen restrictions on intellectual property issues relating to vaccine production and distribution.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Saturday to discuss ways in which the US could adequately provide India with the support it needed. According to a readout of the conversation released by the White House, the US has “identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India,” along with “supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).” Washington is also “pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis.”
The White House further announced that the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will fund a “substantial expansion of manufacturing capability for BioE, the vaccine manufacturer in India, enabling BioE to ramp up to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.” The US will also deploy public health experts from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USAID to “work in close collaboration with the US Embassy, India’s health ministries, and India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff.”
Expressions of support also came from the Pentagon, with Defence chief Lloyd Austin saying that he had directed his department to “use every resource at our disposal” to rapidly provide India’s healthcare workers with the materials they need to combat the surge in COVID-19 infections in the country. “In the next few days, we will provide transportation and logistics assistance to deliver needed supplies to India, including oxygen-related equipment, rapid testing kits, and personal protective equipment,” the leader said in a statement.
State Department head Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also said that they were closely coordinating with Indian authorities on the issue.
While many US lawmakers applauded the administration’s moves, some argued that more could be done to truly help one of America’s biggest allies. Democratic Congressman Andy Kim from New Jersey stressed that the US had enough vaccines for its entire population and could therefore release the tens of millions of AstraZeneca jabs that it has in stock. “These aren’t even approved for use in the US at this time, but they are in many other places across the world. We should break down the barriers preventing us from sending them to the countries that need it,” the leader added.
Kim’s remarks were supported by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, who called on the administration to help facilitate “the Indian diaspora in America to help assist hospitals in India.” Khanna also said that the government should work with business leaders to urge Pfizer and Moderna to approve an intellectual property waiver for some time to help India get through this “incredibly difficult time.”
US Offers Additional Support and Supplies to Help India Fight Second COVID-19 Wave
Lawmakers have called on the US administration to release the tens of millions of AstraZeneca jabs that it has in stock to help India during this time.
April 26, 2021
SOURCE: EAST MOJO
