US President Joe Biden has pledged his support for India’s Covid-19 response through emergency assistance such as ventilators and vaccine raw materials, on the other hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of ensuring “smooth and open supply chains”

As per sources who told a leading international daily, the White House, Biden “pledged America’s steadfast support for the people of India who have been impacted by the recent surge in Covid-19 cases”. The US is providing a “range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics”, it said.

Experts believe India will be among the countries to immediately benefit from the US plan to share its stocks of AstraZeneca vaccine, which is made under licence by the Serum Institute of India and is one of the two shots rolled out for India’s vaccination programme.

The AstraZeneca shot isn’t approved for use in the US and the Biden administration had faced immense global pressure for not taking a call on sharing its stockpile. The US will begin sharing the AstraZeneca vaccine once it clears federal safety reviews, and doses are expected to be available for export in the coming months, the White House told The Associated Press.

Modi described his conversation with Biden as fruitful and tweeted: “We discussed the evolving COVID situation in both countries in detail. I thanked President Biden for the support being provided by the United States to India.”

He also tweeted that he had “underscored the importance of smooth and efficient supply chains of vaccine raw materials” at a time when the India-US health care partnership “can address the global challenge of Covid-19”.

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