US to send vaccine raw material to India, UK dispatches medical supplies

The United States will soon ease restrictions it imposed on the export of raw materials required to augment the production of Covid-19 vaccines in India.

US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan spoke to Ajit Doval, his Indian counterpart, and conveyed to him that the Joe Biden administration has already identified sources of specific raw materials urgently required for manufacturing AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccines in India.

He also assured Doval that the materials will immediately be made available to India, according to the spokesperson of the US National Security Council, Emily Horne.

Also read: UK sending 'vital medical equipment' to India to aid Covid fight

Sullivan told Doval that the US will also provide India with therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). It is also pursuing options to provide oxygen generators and related supplies urgently.

The US had drawn flak for imposing restrictions on export of raw materials. The move was aimed at ramping up production in the US. But it also slowed down vaccine production in India.

Also read: US to soon facilitate export of vaccine raw materials in India

The British government also responded to New Delhi’s request for help on Sunday and sent ventilators and oxygen concentrators. The European Union is also pooling resources to respond rapidly to India’s request for assistance. The first shipment of medical equipment from the UK is expected to reach on Tuesday.

The British High Commission in New Delhi stated that the UK government will send nine airline container loads of supplies, including 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators.

“We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against Covid-19,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The EU also responded to India. “Alarmed by the epidemiological situation in India. We are ready to support,” Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission’s President, tweeted.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also promised support to India on Sunday, days after lamenting that European Union leaders had not provided enough support to pharmaceutical companies and thus allowed India to become a major pharma exporter.

Also read: Covid-19: US in damage-control mode, vows help to India

The US Chamber of Commerce recently urged the Biden administration to release the millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses lying unused in storage for shipment to India, Brazil and other nations hit by the pandemic. Several members of the American Congress and prominent Indian-Americans also called upon the US to provide India with life-saving medical supplies.

Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, recently took to Twitter to urge the US government to lift the embargo on export of the raw materials required to make vaccines in India — like reagents, plastic tubing material, nano-filters and bioreactor bags.