The US is expecting India to resume exports of COVID-19 vaccines that it had halted in March when the second wave of the pandemic ravaged the country. This comes on the back of the US and other nations moving to offer booster shots to their fully vaccinated residents.
“The United States is communicating regularly with India in bilateral and multilateral channels to discuss the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and inquire about its timeline for restarting vaccine exports,” a senior official in the Biden administration told Reuters.
Quad meet
The global pandemic and vaccines are set to be key topics of discussion at the upcoming Quad leadership meet in the US on September 24. US President Joe Biden will host the first in-person summit of leaders from India, Japan, Australia and the US. The meet will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 21.
“Convincing Modi to renew his vaccine supply to the world -- through the global vaccination organisation COVAX -- is an important part of the Biden administration's strategy to mitigate the international spread of the virus,” Axios reported citing unidentified officials.
Export ban
Quad leaders had agreed to work closely on the COVID-19 vaccination when it virtually met in March. However, India had to step back when it was struck by the second wave. Heavily criticised for exporting millions of doses without inoculating its own population, the Modi government temporarily halted exports. India is the largest manufacturers of the low-cost AstraZeneca shots, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
In April, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of SII, told the Associated Press it would resume exports once the situation improved in India. As infections peaked in May, the institute said it would only be able to resume exports by the end of the year.
In August, Bloomberg reported that the country was unlikely to lift export curbs till next year.
Countries affected
India’s export curbs have impacted vaccination drive in lower-income countries. COVAX, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO said it would only be able to administer about 1.4 billion doses by the end of 2021, against its plan to administer two billion doses, due to the ban on exports.
India has till now vaccinated more than half of its eligible population of 473 million people with at least one dose of the vaccine, according to official data. This leaves room for US officials and COVAX to persuade the country to lift the export ban.
“We commend India for being one of the largest manufacturers for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines globally, and we note that COVAX and the world rely heavily on India's contributions," the official said. "It's important for the United States to engage all our allies and partners on these matters so we can take the necessary actions to end this pandemic together," he added.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Sept 14, 2021 8:01 PM IST
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