The raw material urgently required for the Indian manufacture of Covishield vaccine will immediately be made available to India, the White House said on Sunday local time.
Earlier in the day, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke on the phone today with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, expressing deep sympathy for the people of India following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. According to a readout from The White House, Sullivan affirmed America’s solidarity with India, the two countries with the greatest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.
“Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need. To this end, the United States is working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies. The United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India,” the White House said in a readout.
The White House further said that to help treat COVID-19 patients and protect front-line health workers in India, the United States has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will immediately be made available for India.
The United States also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis, the White House readout said further.
The US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is funding 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.
Additionally, the United States is deploying an expert team of public health advisors from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and USAID to work in close collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, India’s health ministries, and India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff.
USAID will also quickly work with CDC to support and fast-track the mobilization of emergency resources available to India through the Global Fund.
This move came after several US lawmakers voiced their concerns and heaped pressure on the Biden administration to extend assistance, release vaccines and other raw materials critical for India.
The US came under pressure after a handful of other big countries blocked negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) involving a proposal spearheaded by India and South Africa which now has the support of 100 WTO members. The proposal would temporarily waive the IP rights of pharmaceutical companies to allow developing countries to produce vaccines.
Prominent democrat lawmaker Ed Markey, one of the first US lawmakers to extend his support towards India noted that the US has enough vaccine for Americans and they should not deny countries like India who need support. Lawmaker Haley Stevens made an appeal to the federal government and the international community to step in and stop the virus outbreak, while Congresswoman Rashida Tlabib pressed that Biden must support India in wake of the alarming COVID-19 situation.
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Saturday (local time) called on the Biden administration to release doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to countries currently experiencing massive and deadly surges in the spread of COVID-19, including India.
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Saturday (local time) called on the Biden administration to release doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to countries currently experiencing massive and deadly surges in the spread of COVID-19, including India.