US to provide raw materials required for Covishield in India
Washington DC: The US has assured India that it will immediately provide the specific raw materials required for manufacturing the Covishield vaccine, with a top White House official saying that the Biden administration was working around the clock to deploy all resources and supplies to bolster the country's fight against the deadly COVID-19 spike.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic Party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.
India has urged the US to supply the raw materials for manufacturing the Covishield vaccine.
Expressing deep sympathy for the people of India following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan, in a telephonic call with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Sunday, affirmed America's solidarity with India.
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, Emily Horne, spokesperson of the US NSA said after the phone call between Sullivan and Doval.
Building on the seven-decade health partnership between the United States and India -- including battles against smallpox, polio and HIV -- they resolved that India and the United States will continue to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic together, Horne said.
Observing that the US is working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies, Horne said that 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 .
To help treat COVID-19 patients and protect the front-line health workers in India, the US has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will immediately be made available for India, she said. Horne said the US also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis.
