Sufficient vaccine dose for India: US coordinator

According to State Department Coordinator for Global COVID-19 Response Gail E Smith, India is set to receive a “substantial number” of COVID vaccine doses through the US government’s latest global distribution strategy, although the final details are still being worked out. Used to be. He said the US would allocate doses to India based on factors such as the country’s vaccination plans. Like other countries, the Biden administration will try to match vaccines in its supply with India’s vaccination program and cold-chain capabilities. “We have some hypothetical planning, but refinement of the actual dose numbers will be determined in consultation with governments and their health experts, their vaccine plans and delivery status, and Covax,” Smith said during a telephonic media briefing. . She was responding to a query by The Indian Express on how much of the 25 million doses allocated by the US in the first tranche for global supplies would be delivered to India through Covax. “…we want to be careful about putting a number in there, though, because we want to work on all those pieces (outside) to make sure we got the numbers right. But, I think they will be in sufficient numbers,

“He said. The vaccines will come “from US supplies”, she said. However, the fate of America’s untapped stockpile of AstraZeneca jabs, which could outpace Covishield’s limited supply in countries like India, depends on whether the US drug regulator approves the vaccine for donation. “We currently do not have AstraZeneca doses to share… a $60 million AstraZeneca donation was announced by the President. We are waiting for FDA approval to ensure complete safety,” Smith said, adding that the government could “interfere” in the process. “We are hopeful that we will get the approval soon. We are not in a position to say when it will come into force as it is the FDA’s jurisdiction.” “One of the things we are doing is trying to match vaccines, quite frankly, to vaccine programs where we can. so, This is part of the operational work that we are going to do in partnership with countries and Kovax,” Smith said. One of the factors that is being considered in this regard is the ability of countries to handle cold chains and various vaccines. Smith said part of the exercise is to ensure that the vaccines being deployed in these countries are those that “can actually be used”.

“So, that means taking into account things like cold chain capacity, which depends on the vaccine… it’s going to be part of the operational process as we deploy these vaccines,” she said. Jeremy Konindic, executive director of the USAID COVID-19 Task Force, said his organization is also helping in the effort to provide “a huge support to the nation’s readiness.” He said that of the $2 billion provided by the US to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, for the Covax facility, $500 million will be given to facilitate the country’s preparedness. The Biden administration on Thursday announced its framework for sharing “at least 80 million” US vaccine doses globally by the end of June. In your plan for the first 25 million doses, It said seven million doses would be allocated for Asian countries and about six million would be targeted towards “regional priorities and partner recipients”. India is specified in both the categories. These doses will be supplied through Covax, through which India has been eligible to receive an exclusive supply of free vaccines during the pandemic. .