A few days after the United States said its priority was to vaccinate its people first and justified the ban on the export of raw materials; President Joe Biden has assured India that his country would immediately provide all resources and supplies to bolster the fight against the deadly coronavirus. The decision to lift the ban on the export of raw materials came after huge criticism from all quarters, including the Democrats, who said India needed the support to fight a raging second wave of the novel coronavirus.
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about the US support of India in the fight against the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 infections.
Did Joe Biden promise raw material for the vaccine?
President had, on April 26, tweeted that his country was ‘determined to help India in its time of need’. "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," said a tweet from the official handle of POTUS.
Emily Horne, the US National Security Council spokesperson, had said that the US had identified "sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India." Horne added the US was working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies.
Joe Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged "full support" of the US to provide emergency assistance and resources in this fight against COVID-19. He said, "India was there for us, and we will be there for them."
Today, I spoke with Prime Minister @narendramodi and pledged America’s full support to provide emergency assistance and resources in the fight against COVID-19. India was there for us, and we will be there for them.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 26, 2021
Is the US ‘diverting’ vaccine material?
Earlier there was some confusion over whether or not the US was diverting raw material for the production of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Serum Institute of India. On Monday, the Biden administration clarified that since there was not enough supply to meet the global requirements, the country would divert its order to India.
"We did not intervene with the manufacturer to make them fill the Serum Institute’s order; we don’t have that power. Instead, what we are doing is diverting our own order of our own supplies to the Serum Institute for their manufacturing.
"Because of the scope of the current situation in India and the stake of our — state of our own production here at home, this was the most effective and rapid step we could take at this stage to provide support at scale," a senior administration official of the White House said at a press briefing.
What other aid is the US going to provide to India?
Apart from providing raw materials for vaccines, the US has rolled a slew of measures designed to support India. The promised aid will come in the form of oxygen-generating machines, the anti-viral drug Remdesivir and the assistance in the form of a strike-team of experts from the Center For Disease Control.
However, no formal promise of sending unused AstraZeneca vaccines, the same vaccine as Covishield, has been made yet. Once the FDA finishes its safety review of the vaccine, 60 million doses will be available for global supply, though there is no official statement on which countries will receive how many doses.
White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki on Friday said the United States had already provided India with some $1.4 billion in health assistance, emergency relief supplies, pandemic training for Indian state and local health officials and ventilators.
Why the US was not diverting raw material for the vaccine to India?
The United States has pledged to inoculate its entire population by July 4 and all its efforts were focused on ensuring enough doses of Pfizer and Moderna, the two COVID vaccines being most widely used in the US.
And therefore, the suppliers of raw materials were, in a way, compelled to provide the necessary items to the US. Now, as explained above, the US has decided to divert these supplies, which otherwise it planned to use, to India.
How many people have been vaccinated in the US?
The United States has inoculated roughly 42% of its total population as on April 26, according to reports.
Israel remains at the top after having vaccinated nearly 62% of its total population, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Chile.
What's the current situation in India?
India's healthcare infrastructure is faced with perhaps the biggest crisis after the second wave of the COVID-19 enveloped the country. India has recorded over 300,000 cases for six consecutive days and the number of casualties has also spiked significantly. Hospitals are swamped with COVID-19 patients amid the shortage of beds, oxygen, drugs, and ventilators across the states.
India recorded another 3.2 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus and 2,771 deaths in the last 24 hours as of April 27 morning. This was the seventh consecutive day when the death toll crossed the 2000-mark in a single day.
