Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360].
U.S. The U.S. will "immediately" send material for the manufacture of vaccines, as well as therapies, tests, ventilators and protective equipment to India, so that the country can face the deadly second wave of COVID-19 it is experiencing, President Joseph Biden's administration announced Sunday.
"Just as India sent aid to the United States because our hospitals were overstretched at the beginning of the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need," National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.
She said the U.S. is working around the clock to deploy available resources and supplies and has identified specific sources of raw materials that are urgently required for the Indian manufacture of Covishield vaccine to be made available to India immediately.
He further explained that to help treat patients with COVID-19 and protect front-line healthcare workers in India, the American union has identified supplies of therapeutic products, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) that will be available immediately.
He also said that options are being pursued to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis.
"The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is funding a substantial expansion of the manufacturing capacity of BioE, the vaccine manufacturer in India, enabling BioE to ramp up to produce at least one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022," he said.
Horne reported that the United States is also deploying an expert team of public health advisors from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and USAID to work closely with the U.S. Embassy, Indian health ministries and Indian Epidemic Intelligence Service personnel.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will also work quickly with CDC to support and accelerate the mobilization of emergency resources available to India through the Global Fund.
Britain, France and Germany have also pledged to send aid to the Asian country in order to contain the crisis caused by COVID-19.
Thus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that he will send emergency medical equipment, such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators.
"Vital medical equipment, including hundreds of oxygen concentrators and ventilators, are now traveling from the UK to India," he said.
He added that more than 600 units of medical supplies to fight the virus will leave London at India's request.
The United Kingdom will do "all it can to support the international community in the global fight against the pandemic," Johnson said.
In this regard, the British Foreign Office said that the first shipment, of nine air containers, should arrive in New Delhi early Tuesday.
The French government will not be left behind, so France plans to offer "significant" oxygen capacity in the coming days. According to AFP news agency, the aid will include oxygen ventilators.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also informed that her government is preparing to send emergency aid to India.
"I want to express to the people of India my condolences for the terrible suffering that COVID-19 has once again caused in their communities. The fight against the pandemic is our common struggle. Germany stands in solidarity with India and is urgently preparing a support mission," she said via Twitter.
For his part, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that his country is suffering a "tsunami" of coronavirus.
This, after this Sunday, India registered a new world record of infected people per day, accumulating almost 353 thousand positive cases in a single day, for which the Indian president urged all citizens to get vaccinated and act with caution.
"We were confident, our spirits were high after successfully facing the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation," Modi said in a radio address.
Several hospitals and doctors have issued urgent notices saying they cannot cope with the flood of patients, while various media report that people are dying in the streets while crematoriums are no longer able to cope despite being open 24 hours a day.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended for a week a lockdown in the capital that was due to end today, Monday, as one person dies every four minutes in the city due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
