US lawmakers hail move to send COVID vaccines to India, other countries; write to Biden to ensure equitable distribution

Top US lawmakers have applauded the Biden administration for its decision to distribute 2.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines to India and other countries and urged him to take all necessary measures to ensure their equitable administration across the world.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that the US will allocate 75 percent - nearly 1.9 crores of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa.

The move is part of his administration's framework for sharing 80 million (8 crores) vaccines globally by the end of June.

India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu had said India will be a significant recipient of US vaccines as India has been included in both the identified categories in the allocation announced today- direct supply to neighbors and partner countries, and under the COVAX initiative.

In a tweet, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said as India fights its COVID-19 crisis, it's important to continue to share extra US vaccines to help its friend and important ally.

“A return to normalcy and an eventual end to this brutal pandemic will require some global cooperation,” Hyde-Smith said.

Senator John Cornyn, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus said, “I applaud the Biden Administration’s commitment to getting COVID-19 vaccines to countries that need them most.” “As Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, I believe this is an excellent opportunity to help India respond to their current, dangerous surge,” Cornyn said in a tweet.

Congressman Dwight Evans said he supports Biden’s plan to send vaccine doses to India and other countries.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who was recently engaged in discussions with the Indian-American community in Houston over the devastating COVID-19 conditions in India, applauded Biden for the step.

The Democratic Congresswoman from Texas urged Biden to increase vaccines and medical equipment to be sent to India as soon as possible, including providing any necessary waivers that did not happen in the last administration.

“India is a close friend and our strategic partner. As India had assisted the US during America's pandemic last year, I urge the Biden Administration to add to its very positive efforts to immediately send surplus vaccines and supplies to India to deal with the devastation of COVID-19 in India,” Jackson-Lee said.

“We are all grateful for the vaccines the current administration has already delivered, and thanks again to our local Indian American leaders!” she said. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the Indian-American Caucus, urged President Biden to take the necessary steps to address the deadly second wave of COVID-19 in India.

“Medical supplies and surplus vaccines are needed to get this virus under control across the globe,” he said.

Meanwhile, about 40 lawmakers, led by Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with Congressman Tom Malinowski, on Friday wrote to President Biden, urging him to take all the necessary measures to ensure equitable administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the world.

Other signatories to the letter include Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna.

In the letter, Members of Congress called on the White House to take five specific measures — from financial investments to diplomatic efforts — to achieve the goal of a rapid and equitable vaccination program while mitigating COVID-19 globally.

The letter is being sent ahead of the G7 Summit and at a moment in which wealthy countries have administered more than 80 percent of global vaccines while low-income countries have received just 0.3 percent.

“We urge you to pursue additional steps to advance a bold, comprehensive strategy to vaccinate the world as quickly as possible,” said the lawmakers.

“It is imperative that the United States act quickly and deploy every tool in our arsenal. Now is the time to build international cooperation and solidarity in ways we have never seen before, including using the full force of United States diplomacy, economic and commercial leadership, legal authorities, and membership in multilateral institutions.

''The fate of our own health and safety in the United States is inextricably connected to the wellbeing and protection of the most vulnerable among us worldwide,” they wrote.

The lawmakers urged President Biden to ensure the immediate release of the 80 million doses of the vaccine which the government plans to share with the world, allocating the committed doses based on where surging numbers are greatest while also reassessing our stockpile of vaccines to release even more vaccines immediately to countries around the world.

In the letter, the lawmakers urged Biden to convene a global vaccine summit with world leaders to spur cooperation and coordination in the development, production, and distribution of vaccines; encouraging research transparency, open access, and global collaboration in engineering and manufacturing to accelerate universal vaccination.

The coronavirus has claimed over 3 million lives across the world so far. There are 172,468,843 confirmed infections due to the deadly virus globally, according to Johns Hopkins University coronavirus data.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)