Washington: The United States will "immediately" make available sources of raw materials required to ramp up production of the Covishield coronavirus vaccine - of which there is an acute shortage in India; this shortage, in turn, is undermining India’s efforts to grapple with a daily caseload of more than three lakh.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, on Sunday, to confirm this, and also that his country had "identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and PPE suits that will (also) be made immediately available to India".
The US is also "pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis" to help India overcome a crippling shortage that has endangered the lives of thousands of both Covid-positive patients and those fighting other diseases.
The White House, however, did not mention sending surplus vaccines; the United States' offer of help on sourcing raw materials for vaccine production comes after appeals from Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla whose facility manufactures Covishield.
