Covid wave: US aid to include supplies to manufacture 20 mn doses of vaccines

India on Thursday reported more than 370,000 news covid cases, and more than 3,600 deaths, both at new highs.

1 min read . Updated: 29 Apr 2021, 10:01 AM IST Elizabeth Roche

The US has redirected its own order of AstraZeneca manufacturing supplies to India, which will allow India to make the vaccines, the White House has said

NEW DELHI : The US assistance to India to battle its raging Covid-19 pandemic includes supplies to manufacture over 20 million doses of vaccines, a White House statement on Thursday said.

The first tranche of the assistance, which is expected to arrive on Friday also includes a first batch of “a planned 20,000 treatment courses of the antiviral drug remdesivir to help treat hospitalized patients", the statement said.

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This comes as India on Thursday reported more than 370,000 news cases—a new high—and more than 3,600 deaths, which is also a record high.

Beleaguered India, which is facing a raging second wave of the pandemic, had been asking the US to speed up supplies of vaccine manufacturing ingredients that were in short supply. India’s plans to curb the ferocious wave of the pandemic includes vaccinating its adult population with those over 18 years of age allowed to register for their first dose from 1 May on Wednesday.

“The US has redirected its own order of AstraZeneca manufacturing supplies to India. This will allow India to make over 20 million doses of covid-19 vaccine," the White House statement said.

Another statement from the US administration announced the despatch of the first tranche of assistance.

“Today, the US deployed the first of several emergency covid-19 relief shipments to India. Arriving in New Delhi from Travis Air Force Base ( in California) on the world’s largest military aircraft, the shipment includes 440 oxygen cylinders and regulators, generously donated by the State of California. In addition, on this first flight, USAID will send 960,000 Rapid Diagnostic Tests to identify infections early to help prevent the community spread of covid-19, and 100,000 N95 masks to protect India’s front line healthcare heroes," it said.

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