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BIG STORY APRIL 23, 2021 | The Indian Eye 10

covid-19: colossal failure

a friend in need? Biden-Harris get the

flak for slow response to india’s pleas

As India cries for help, the US government promises to offer the much-needed support

Our Bureau help to the US government with

Washington, DC/New Delhi regards to the hoarding of vac-
cines. “We are sitting on 35-40
ndia needs help. It has al- million doses of AstraZeneca
ready asked the US for vaccine Americans will never
Isupport, especially for raw use. Can we please give or lend
material that is used for mak- them to India? Like may be
ing vaccines. But little help has now? It’ll help. A lot,” Jha said.
come from the US so far. The International Monetary
On Sunday, the US it was Fund (IMF)’s chief economist
rushing therapeutics, rapid diag- Gita Gopinath offered a more
nostic test kits, ventilators, and general statement expressing
Personal Protective Equipment her thoughts on India’s Covid
(PPE) to help treat Covid-19 crisis — “Deeply disturbed by
patients and protect front-line the exploding health crisis in
health workers in India. The India. So many of my family,
announcement came only after friends and colleagues grappling
severe criticism of its response People in india are deeply upset with biden and Harris with this second wave.”
to pleas for help from India. The Biden administration
The United States also is “pur- quires immediate support from resulting in an increased sense has denied that there are any
suing options to provide oxygen the United States and the inter- of helplessness within the com- ‘outright bans’ on the export
generation and related supplies national community. India has munity. Visuals of desperate of vaccine raw materials in re-
on an urgent basis,” the White always stepped up to support people outside hospitals, mass sponse to an appeal by vaccine
House National Security Coun- others in need and now the time graves, cremation sites, and manufacture Serum Institute
cil said in a statement. has come for us to help India,” endless tweets asking for leads of India’s (SII) owner, Adar
Earlier, the US defended tweeted Nisha Biswal, a former on oxygen cylinders, plasma do- Poonawalla, to U.S. President
restrictions on the export of US assistant secretary of state nors, or Covid beds are only ex- Joe Biden, asking him to lift an
key raw materials for the man- for South Asia in the Obama acerbating this despair. Google embargo on exports.
ufacture of COVID-19 vaccine administration. Docs and other online toolkits Poonawalla, on April 16, had
that threatens to slow India’s According to a report by the have been created, and people asked Mr Biden to “lift the em-
vaccination drive. In a blunt Duke Global Health Innova- are relying on the all-powerful bargo” on raw materials to assist
statement, a senior State De- tion Center, the United States tool of resharing, retweeting or the production of COVID-19
partment official said the Biden is on track to have an oversup- forwarding the cries for help. vaccines. SII, which produc-
administration’s first obligation ply of up to 300 million or more There are many who want es ‘Covishield’, a version of the
is to take care of the require- vaccine doses as soon as July - the US to lift its export embar- COVID-19 vaccine developed by
ments of the American people. counting the Astra Zeneca and go on raw materials needed to the University of Oxford and As-
This caused a shock in In- Johnson and Johnson vaccines mass-produce vaccines. Given traZeneca, uses bio-reactor bags
dia and people were getting that Washington has side-lined the importance of Indian origin from U.S. firms ABEC and GE
angry. The Indian social media - even as many countries in the communities as political groups Healthcare to grow cells for their
is full of anger against the US developing world will have to in countries like the US, this vaccines, according to reports.
government. Even American wait years to vaccinate a majori- could have big impact on In- It also uses filters, microcarrier
civil society, lawmakers, and ty of their populations. dia-US relations. beads and cell culture media-
businesses are joining the de- Even the vast Indian-Amer- In this situation, social me- all of which are in short supply.
nunciation of Washington. Also, ican community is getting upset dia appeals by Indian-Ameri- But emptions are running
former administration officials with the US administration. Ins- cans in the face of challenges in high in India and the role of
and Democratic Party stalwarts tagram and Twitter have become the subcontinent can be wield- Biden-Harris administration
are urging the Biden White the primary platforms for Indi- ed for good. Providence-based during a grave crisis can create
House to respond to India’s ans abroad to stay informed on physician Ashish K. Jha, for in- a long-term anti-Americanism
needs. “India’s current wave re- the Covid-19 situation in India, stance, made a simple call for in India.

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