Mukund Patel
Chicago (USA): United States Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday assured his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America is ‘determined to help India in its time of need’, referring to the devastating second wave of Covid-19.
To this end, the US has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for the Indian manufacturer of the Covishield vaccine (Serum Institute of India) that will immediately be made available for India.
To help treat Covid-19 patients and protect 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, according to a press statement released by the White House on Sunday.
The US also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is funding a substantial expansion of the manufacturing capability of a vaccine manufacturer in India, enabling it to ramp up to produce at least 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.
Additionally, the US is deploying an expert team of public health advisors from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to work in close collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, India’s health ministries, and the Epidemic Intelligence Service staff.
The USAID will also quickly work with the CDC to support and fast-track the mobilization of emergency resources available to India through the Global Fund.
Sullivan spoke by phone with Doval, expressing deep sympathy for the people of India following the recent spike in Covid-19 cases. He affirmed America’s solidarity with India, the two countries with the biggest number of Covid-19 cases in the world.
Building on the seven-decade health partnership between the US and India —including battles against smallpox, polio, and HIV — they resolved that India and America will continue to fight the global Covid-19 pandemic together.
Just as India sent assistance to the US as its hospitals were strained early in the pandemic in 2020, America is also ‘determined to help India in its time of need’, the statement added.
The two National Security Advisors agreed that the US and India would stay in close touch in the coming days.