Topline
The U.S. is sending immediate medical aid to India as the country struggles with a massive surge in Covid-19 cases that’s overwhelming its healthcare system, the White House announced Sunday, but while supporting India’s vaccine manufacturing efforts, the U.S. will not be letting go of its own supply quite yet.
Family members of a Covid-19 patient request oxygen support outside Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) ... [+]
Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesKey Facts
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke by phone with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, on Sunday and pledged to immediately deploy “available resources and supplies,” according to a White House statement.
Among other supplies, the U.S. is “working around the clock” to deploy drug treatments, rapid diagnostic Covid-19 testing kits, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and oxygen supplies, the statement said.
Though the U.S. won’t be sending over its own vaccine supply, the White House said it has identified raw materials needed for India’s manufacturing of its Covishield vaccine that “will be immediately made available for India.”
The U.S. will also fund a “substantial” expansion of India’s vaccine manufacturer, with a goal of creating 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.
Furthermore, a team of advisors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is being deployed to India to help the country’s health officials.
Crucial Quote
“India and the United States will continue to fight the global Covid-19 pandemic together,” the White House statement read. “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.”
Key Background
The announcement from the White House comes as India’s Covid-19 outbreak continues to worsen. The country broke the world record for new daily coronavirus infections on Saturday for the fourth day in a row, tallying 349,691 new cases in just one day. As the world has watched the crisis unfold, global health experts have been pressing the U.S. on why it hasn’t offered its stockpile of AstraZeneca vaccines to India. “There are currently tens of millions of unused AstraZeneca vaccine doses sitting in storage in the U.S., which has so far declined to share vaccines with other struggling countries,” Forbes reported of the expert outcry earlier this week. Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they will not share vaccine doses until there are enough available for every American adult who wants one, though the White House said last week this goal will be met with upcoming shipments from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Chief Critic
“We are sitting on 35-40 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine Americans will never use,” Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, wrote on Twitter earlier this week. “Can we please give or lend them to India? Like maybe now? It’ll help. A lot.”
Big Number
166%. That’s how much India’s coronavirus-related deaths have increased over the past two weeks compared to the two weeks prior. The number of cases has increased by 109% during the same period, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
Further Reading
“Health Experts Urge U.S. Government On Social Media To Donate Unused AstraZeneca Vaccines To India” (Forbes)
“Haunting Images From The Covid-19 Crisis In India” (Forbes)
“India Logs Almost 1 Million New Covid Cases In Three Days Amid Deadly Surge” (Forbes)
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The Link LonkApril 26, 2021 at 01:54AM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/04/25/us-will-send-drug-treatments-and-ventilators-to-india-amid-record-covid-19-surge-but-no-vaccines/
U.S. Will Send Drug Treatments And Ventilators To India Amid Record Covid-19 Surge—But No Vaccines - Forbes
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