THD NewsDesk, New Delhi: US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said it will consider sending the surplus vaccines of AstraZeneca to India in this significant need of the hour.
Western nations including Britain and Germany have pledged help as India’s coronavirus crisis grows, driving increases in global case numbers in recent days even as the number of vaccines administered globally surpasses the one billion mark.
In the country, the worst hit is the capital city of New Delhi as people are in a severe crisis of hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen supply and ill organized hospital structure.
Mr Fauci told ABC’s “This Week” news program,
“We really need to do more. I don’t think you can walk away from that.”
The United States has around 30 million doses of the low-cost AstraZeneca vaccine that are not approved for use in the country, and Fauci said the idea of sending them to India will be “something that is up for active consideration.”
He also commented on the U.S’s endeavour in
“really ramping up what we can do on the ground, oxygen supplies, drugs, tests, PPE, as well as taking the look into the intermediate and long run about how we can get vaccines to these individuals, both immediately now, as well as in the situation where you help them to be able to essentially make vaccines themselves.”
His statement cam after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was
“working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”
The AstraZeneca vaccine, though is suspected of certain side effects is known for being effective in most cases.
Writer Salman Rushdie, in a tweet addressed to US President Joe Biden, said
“The US has something like a vaccine glut. India is in dire straits. Please overturn this export ban ASAP.”
Fauci said,
“Bottom line” is that “it’s a terrible situation that’s going on in India and other low- and middle-income countries. And there is more we can do.”
“And I believe you will see shortly that all these things that we’re talking about are on the table, and we will be moving towards that.”
Source: Mint
