PremiumNEW DELHI : New Delhi: As India grapples with the second wave of covid-19 infections, senior US officials have promised support for the Indian health system to help it cope with a record number of daily cases.
In a Twitter post overnight Sunday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said: "Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific covid-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India's health care heroes."
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Premium “The US is deeply concerned by the severe covid outbreak in India. We are working around the clock to deploy more supplies and support to our friends and partners in India as they bravely battle this pandemic. More very soon," US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in another post.
India has been urging the US to lift restrictions on export of 37 critical elements needed for the manufacture of vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca-developed Covishield in the country. The export of these elements are barred under the 1950 US Defence Production Act that authorizes the US president to direct firms to prioritize domestic needs ahead of exports. Serum Institute of India (SII) head Adar Poonawalla had earlier this month urged US president Joe Biden to lift the restrictions on exports. Mint has learnt that vital components needed for vaccine production are flowing but irregularly, that is, timelines of products being shipped being uncertain and key elements not being sent in the quantities required. Indian foregn minister S. Jaishankar held a meeting on Friday with vaccine manufacturers and officials, including foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and Indian envoys to the US, Germany and the European Union to discuss vaccine supply chain bottlenecks as India’s health system was creaking under the pressure of a record number of daily infections and deaths.
India began vaccinating its population on 16 January but a second wave of infections seems to have caught the authorities and people off guard with a shortage of oxygen, key drugs, vaccines and even hospital beds being reported. The number of daily infections touched almost 350,000 with total number of deaths inching towards the 200,000 mark as the total number of infections crossed 16.6 million.
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