After the US President Joe Biden announced that the US will allocate 75% – nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses – of unused Covid-19 vaccines from its stockpile to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa by the end of June, American lawmakers called on the US government to send more vaccines and medical assistance to India.
As part of his administration’s strategy for distributing 80 million (8 crores) vaccines globally, Biden stated the US will share the vaccine with several countries to fight the epidemic through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “The crisis in India is devastating and demands more action from (President Joe) Biden. More Covid-19 vaccines and medical supplies are needed to help one of our most important global allies fight this virus,”
Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, stated that about 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccination have been provided in the United States.
“India is a critical friend of the US. Biden’s vaccine sharing programme is flawed: We should prioritise our allies such as India, and make sure it receives the Covid-19 vaccines they desperately need,” he said.
Hill, who is a member of the House Financial Services Committee said, “The situation in India, one of our closest allies, is dire. I encourage the Biden administration to support India with vaccines in their time of need,”
Congressman August Pfluger said, “We should immediately send additional vaccines and critical medical supplies,”
India reported 1,00,636 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, the lowest in 61 days, taking the infection tally to 2,89,09,975, according to the Union Health Ministry’s latest data. The death toll due to coronavirus reached 3,49,186 with 2,427 new fatalities, the lowest in around 45 days.
[embedpost slug=”joe-biden-announces-plan-to-distribute-25-million-vaccines-globally/”]
