US raw material to India critical to fight Covid-19 in South Asia

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The US administration’s decision to allow export of critical raw materials required for production of Covid 19 vaccines to New Delhi has come as a sigh of relief to India’s neighbouring countries including Bangladesh and Nepal.</p>
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Serum Institute of India (SII) has gone into commercial deals for supply of vaccines with several countries.</p>
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In Bangladesh it has tied up with Beximco Pharmaceuticals for supply of vaccines.</p>
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“We need to be able to uphold the commitment as this would have diplomatic fallouts,” an insider said.</p>
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“India had committed to supply vaccines to Bangladesh, now it has suddenly stopped, the need of the hour is to press the pedal on the vaccination drive but the process is getting impacted,” a senior member of a Bangladeshi think tank told India Narrative.</p>
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Nepal, too has brought up the issue with India.</p>
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Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/how-us-gave-in-to-india-s-call-for-vaccine-raw-materials-the-backstory-83826.html">How US gave in to India’s call for vaccine raw materials: the backstory</a></h1>
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US’ decision to bar exports of raw materials hit vaccine production in India at a crucial time, when the South Asian countries are reeling under a severe second Covid 19 wave.</p>
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Dhaka has already started looking at alternative sources of vaccine supply.</p>
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Shakti Sinha, retired bureaucrat and director at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International, said that Washington’s decision to allow export raw materials is “a good sign.” “Had this not happened the world wouldn’t have forgiven the US,” Sinha said.</p>
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“Just as India sent assistance to the US as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the US is determined to help India in its time of need,” Emily Horne, US national security council spokesperson said.</p>
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A report in Dhaka Tribune (DT) said that “amid uncertainty over the arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment, the health authorities have decided to temporarily stop administering the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZenca shots across Bangladesh.”</p>
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As of April 23, nearly 5.78 million people have received the first dose of the vaccine, according to official figures, the DT report said.</p>
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New Delhi has so far sent Made-in-India Covid 19 vaccine to more than 70 countries.</p>
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The Joe Biden administration had come under sharp criticism for promoting vaccine nationalism by putting a bar on exports of the required raw materials and even sitting on stockpiles of unused vaccines. </p>
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“We need to release our stockpile of unsused AstraZeneca vaccines now. In India alone, almost 350,000 COVID-19 cases were reported today. When people in India and elsewhere desperately need help, we can’t let vaccines sit in a warehouse, we need to get them where they’ll save lives,” Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said in a tweet.</p>
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Last year, India stood up to supply antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to the US and Brazil among other countries just after the outbreak of the pandemic. After India opened up exports of HCQ, former US President Donald Trump even said that this act “will not be forgotten.”</p>