New Delhi: India did not make a request to the US for the doses of ‘ready-to-use’ vaccines, even as Washington has said it will be able to share the millions of unused AstraZeneca vaccine doses with India and others after they undergo a rigorous review, according to a senior US administration official.
At a briefing for a select group of media, a senior US administration official said early Tuesday there are “no AstraZeneca doses that have completed and cleared that process to be sent to other countries”.
“As part of the U.S. strategy to be ready for a range of scenarios, the United States has produced some AstraZeneca doses already. Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the United States already has, as I mentioned, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not approved for use in the U.S., we do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next few months.”
Thus, the official added, the US is planning to share those AstraZeneca vaccine shots “as they become available” once the FDA reviews their quality as part of its ongoing review of all doses made at the plant where they were produced.
Asked if India put it a request for these vaccines to be sent over, the senior official replied in the negative.
“We expect that there are approximately 10 million doses that could be released if and when FDA gets — gives its concurrence, which could happen in the coming weeks. Further, there’s an estimated additional 50 million doses that are in various stages of production, and these could be completed in stages across May and June,” he said.
The official confirmed that the US has about 60 million doses that the US could share with India and others over the next two months.
According to a diplomatic source, India had not made a request for vaccines until the last week.
The US, on Sunday, agreed to export raw materials to India that are critical for the production of vaccines, thereby giving India an exception under the Defence Production Act, 1950 (DPA), due to which the raw material firms delayed their exports.
According to another official, the US will be exporting 36 millipore filters that would be used to manufacture the Covishield AstraZeneca vaccine.
Also read: Modi, Biden talk ‘importance’ of supply chains as US extends India support to tackle Covid
US has ‘zero doses’ of AstraZeneca at present
Earlier on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing: “Right now we have zero doses available of AstraZeneca.”
She added: “And we expect there to be approximately 10 million doses that could be released if/when the FDA — if or when the FDA gives its concurrence, which could happen in the coming weeks. So this is not immediate.”
She said there is an estimated additional 50 million doses that are in various stages of production and these could be completed in stages over the months of May and June.
“The United States has been one of the largest providers of assistance to address the COVID pandemic around the world, including to India … And we have obviously taken some significant steps over the last couple of days to address their immediate needs and been in close touch with them at every level, including with Prime Minister and the President discussing — or communicating.”
Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General, said in a tweet Monday: “U.S. announces plan to share AstraZeneca #COVID19 vaccine doses with the world. 60 million doses to be shared as they become available. Global pandemics require global cooperation.”
NEW: U.S. announces plan to share AstraZeneca #COVID19 vaccine doses with the world. 60 million doses to be shared as they become available.
Global pandemics require global cooperation.
— Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) April 26, 2021
US made a ‘mistake’, say experts
Experts, however, are also divided on the issue whether or not the US did indeed delay in offering help to India.
“The US clearly made a mistake by not stepping up to indicate and actually provide support as soon as the crisis began. This is still a relatively new administration and I think many things are yet to fall in place… Many people here were reminded of the Cold War era when the US was not seen as a reliable partner,” Arun Singh, former Indian ambassador to the US, told ThePrint.
Singh, now a member of the National Security Advisory Board, said the delay from US’ side happened because the Joe Biden administration is still in its early days and many things are yet to fall in place.
“The administration may also have been worried initially that it may come under domestic criticism, especially from the more hawkish ‘America First’ elements…”
He added: “But now they are out with a response and across the board, the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, NSA etc, they have said they will help us with some of the critical items. We need to also understand that while Biden has won the elections a large section of the American people did vote for Trump and the Republican Party is watching this administration’s every single step. So there is a tremendous amount of domestic compulsion as well.”
Meera Shankar, also a former Indian envoy to Washington, said while the response from the US can be seen as a delay, India also lacked preparedness and “declared victory over Covid when the numbers were still relatively higher”.
She added: “There were glaring gaps in our own preparedness. We did not use the time we got to tackle this second Tsunami of sorts.”
On Monday, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for the first time since daily Covid cases in India started to cross 2,00,000.
During the phone call, Biden told Modi that the US will offer “steadfast support for the people of India who have been impacted by the recent surge in Covid-19 cases”.
Modi also urged Biden to support India and South Africa’s proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property and patent rights from Covid-19 vaccines to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries.
Also read: India-US ties not built on morals, but necessity. Biden’s Covid help delay won’t matter
Why Modi Govt is taking help from other countries? Isn’t it internal matter ?