After chat with Modi, Joe Biden offers raw materials for Covishield, Remdesivir and oxygen concentrators as part of COVID aid package to India

• A US official has highlighted the assistance being offered to India to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This comes a day after the Indian PM Narendra Modi spoke to US President Joe Biden.
• The aid includes raw materials for Covishield, Remdesivir, oxygen concentrators and more.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to United States President Joe Biden, a senior official from the Biden administration told reporters the steps being taken to provide assistance to India amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the beginning of the call, the official said that the administration remembers India’s generosity when it helped the United States in the early days of the pandemic by offering medical assistance.

“This weekend, we had several high-level calls with Indian officials about the best ways that we can support India’s fight against this current surge of COVID-19,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters. The National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had spoken with his counterpart Jake Sullivan on Monday.

“We are in close touch with Indian officials at all levels. And we’re also closely coordinating with our allies, friends, and Quad partners about how we can collectively support India in its hour of need,” the official said.

“Given that there is not enough of the supply for the entire global manufacturing effort and in light of the current crisis, we, the United States, are diverting our order to India,” the official added.

Assistance being offered to India

1. The US will be providing raw material for the production of the Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine (locally known as Covishield) to the Serum Institute of India.
   
2. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will offer technical assistance and materials to boost vaccine confidence and readiness in the country.
   
3. The Department of Defense (DoD) is working on providing field oxygen generation systems that are used to provide oxygen to 50 to 100 beds.
   
4. The DoD will also provide oxygen concentrations and ventilators along with the training required for these devices.
   
5. The US has identified commercial suppliers of Remdesivr, which is currently in shortage in the country.
   
6. The US has also identified sources of rapid diagnostic testing supplies and protective equipment that will be made available to India.
   
7. The USAID and CDC will deploy a strike team to India that will work in collaboration with India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff.
   
8. The Serum Institute of India will be given 36 Millipore filters that are required in the production of the Covishield vaccine.
   

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