JOIN USIndia among 30 nations to receive 1.6 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from US
India is among nearly 30 nations, which will receive altogether 1.6 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines the United States will send out in the second tranche of its donation of jabs to foreign nations.
President Joe Biden’s administration in Washington DC on Monday announced the distribution of 5.5 crore doses of vaccines that it would send out in the second tranche, of the 8 core doses the US had committed to donating to other nations from its own stockpiles.
The US had announced the distribution of the first tranche – consisting of 2.5 crore doses of vaccines – on June 3. India and over 25 other countries had been allocated altogether 1.3 crore doses – 60 lakh directly and 70 lakh through COVAX – an initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi – The Vaccine Alliance and the others to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 jabs around the world.
The Biden Administration on Monday announced that approximately 4.1 crore or 75% of the total 5.5 crore doses of the second tranche of its donation would be shared through COVAX.
Of the doses to be shared through COVAX, 1.6 crore would be allocated to the countries in Asia, like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and the Pacific Islands. Approximately 1.4 crore would be earmarked for Latin America and the Caribbean nations and 1 crore for Africa, according to a fact-sheet released by the White House.
In addition to the vaccines to be sent out through COVAX, the US will also donate approximately 1.4 crore – or 25% of the 5.5 crore doses of the second tranche – directly to other countries. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will receive doses from the US both directly and through COVAX.
Biden recently announced that the US would purchase half a billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and would donate them to 92 low and lower middle-income countries and members of the African Union. The G7 and other nations agreed to provide an additional more than one billion doses starting summer 2021. In addition, the US is committed to expanding local production of vaccines, and through the Quad (America, Japan, Australia and India) partnership and the International Development Finance Corporation’s support for vaccine manufacturing with more than one billion doses to be produced in Africa and India in 2021 and 2022, according to the White House.
The US was expected to discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government before deciding on the exact number of Covid-19 vaccines India will get out of the doses the US will donate to other countries from its own stockpile. Though it has been more than a fortnight after the US announced distribution of the first tranche of its donation of vaccines, it is still not clear how many doses of vaccines the US will actually send out to India.
“We are awaiting further details regarding the timeline and the quantity of vaccines that the US government has announced that it would share with various countries, including India. I don't have any particular update for the moment on that,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi. He was asked if the government had any information on the exact number of vaccines the US would donate to India.