India gets US aid amid coronavirus crisis, as Biden weighs vaccine sharing

Washington – The Biden administration is blocking requests from foreign leaders for help gaining access to COVID-19 vaccines. But while President Joe Biden has pledged that the United States will be the “arsenal of vaccines” for the world, his advisers have yet to clarify how and when the United States will begin sharing American supplies. Instead, Biden has repeatedly said that his administration will only help the rest of the world after all Americans have access to vaccines. Global health experts and advocates say this situation is increasingly untenable, especially in the face of the worsening COVID-19 crisis in India and the growing global gap in vaccination rates. India broke another record this weekend with more than 400,000 new cases per day, and the number of deaths doubled daily over a period of 10 days (April 19-29). Independent reports say the deaths are largely incalculable, a hospital fire has killed 18 patients with the virus in India, a fire in a COVID-19 hospital ward in western India killed 18 patients early on Saturday, as the country grappled with its worst. So far, the outbreak has increased, and the vaccination campaign against all adults has stepped up. (May 1) AP “We are not dealing with a single COVID pandemic.“ There are so many strains involved, and really multiple epidemics, in different parts of the country, ”said Manoj Gopalakrishna, CEO of the nonprofit group CARE India. The overwhelming COVID-19 in India as a result of a “perfect storm” of factors, experts say, in Delhi and other cities, the healthcare system is “completely overwhelmed,” he said, as patients wait outside hospitals until beds are available and oxygen and other supplies run out. Frontline workers. That India only has 95,000 critical care beds for its 1.4 billion population. He said the country needs everything at the moment – from emergency supplies to COVID-19 vaccines, and with the urgency of the crisis in India intensifying last week, he said The White House said the United States will share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it gets federal approval in the coming months. USAID has begun transporting emergency supplies into the country, including oxygen cylinders, and testing. Rapid diagnostics, 100,000 N95 masks to help India protect frontline health workers. Relatives with a COVID-19 patient arrive at a government hospital designated for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, India, April 27, 2021. Coronavirus cases in India are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. Ajit Solanki, AP, “Help us, hopefully State Department spokesperson Ned Price said,” It will have a catalytic effect on the wider community here and around the world to help the Indian people. ”These are“ impressive and welcome steps, albeit a little too late. ” Gopalakrishna said, although he said the initial frustration had subsided to an estimate, Gayle Smith, the State Department’s coordinator for the global response to COVID-19 and health security, said the United States intends “to remain fully engaged and do what we can to get through this period of crisis.” . This will need urgent and sustained attention for some time. “The US airlifting of COVID-19 relief supplies to India left a US Air Force C-5 cargo plane in Northern California on Wednesday carrying COVID-19 relief supplies to India. It included oxygen cylinders, medical masks and rapid test kits as India struggles with Coronavirus surge. (April 29) AP Meanwhile in the US, infection and death rates are declining as the Biden administration continues its aggressive vaccination campaign. About 43% of Americans have received at least one shot of COVID-19, compared to less than 9% of Population of India, according to Our World in Data. Vaccine Rollout: When will everyone be vaccinated in the US? Vaccine availability is ‘apartheid’ Globally, more than 1 billion vaccine doses have been administered – with 82% of vaccines administered in countries High- and middle-income countries and only 0.3% in high- and middle-income countries Low-income countries, according to the World Health Organization. ”Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS, said in a briefing hosted by the ONE campaign, Non-profit organization fighting poverty and global health, “It’s apartheid.” “We knew it was coming. We let it happen.” The vaccine gap could be exacerbated by the India crisis. India is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, but the country has imposed restrictions on exports of COVID-19 vaccines amid its domestic spike, and international aid groups and global health advocates are ramping up pressure on the United States and other G7 countries to take a range of steps to expand access to Vaccine – from sharing more of their own doses to waiving patents for pharmaceutical companies’ vaccines. “Look, I understood. Rich countries hedged their bets early” in the pandemic when it was not clear when vaccines would become available, said Tom Hart, acting head of the ONE campaign. “But now that vaccines have started, this hedge appears to be hoarding.” “America First” in the COVID-19 battle? But politics – global and domestic – are fraught with risks for Biden. He has promised to craft a foreign policy that works in the interest of America’s middle class, a change in the isolationist “America First” doctrine of the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Biden has pledged to restore America’s status as a leader on the world stage, and there is perhaps no place where these two pledges are more in conflict than is the case with COVID-19 as Biden races to save American lives and restart the American economy as it faces desperate. Appeals for help from key allies like India and neighbors like Canada and Mexico. “The president’s calculations remain fundamentally rooted in concern about what is happening here domestically,” said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Center for Global Health Policy at the Center for Strategy. And International Studies, a think tank in Washington. But Morrison and others say this approach is dangerous and wrong. “It will further aggravate our allies, and it will feed the narrative that we are sailing in radically different outcomes in the world,” he said. Morrison said that the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, are heading towards a “very positive set of outcomes,” “but the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries will not look for a solution until 2023.” As the situation in the United States improves, it must To move immediately to focus on “large-scale participation (of vaccines)” and using American influence to create a more coherent global strategy, including rapid expansion in manufacturing capacity and technology transfer. Stephen Morrison, Center for Strategic and International Studies, The vast majority of low- and middle-income countries will not seek No solution until 2023, and Smith said the administration is still developing an American plan. “There is a huge demand for a vaccine all over the world. Smith said in a press briefing Friday. “Frankly, we haven’t decided on the criteria for allocating those vaccines.” Smith said decisions will be based on “the impact we could have on the spread of the virus (and) where the needs are most acute.” Biden advisers say the administration is committed to a global response and noted that the White House has pledged $ 4 billion for COVAX, a global vaccine alliance dedicated to helping poor countries vaccinate their populations. The White House has also promised to supply 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada. Smith noted that the United States is the largest donor of COVAX. “This will be a static process for some time,” she said. “It’s a huge operation.” More: The United States shares up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with other countries when there is a “five-alarm fire” at a neighbor Arthur Kaplan, professor of bioethics at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, the White House said He was right to engage in a little “pollen nationalism” when the vaccine began rolling out. He then indicated that the United States led the world in deaths, and Biden was justified in focusing on Americans first. “Don’t get up in the morning and say, ‘Well, I can feed my kids, or I can feed the kids in Africa. “I think I’ll flip a coin,” he said. He said there is a moral obligation in any crisis to help “your friends, your neighbors, and even your country.” Tom Hart, one campaign. This is very frightening when we look at what is happening in India – both inside and outside India. Itself and what it could mean for the next development of this pandemic, but the dynamics have changed, he said, with fewer infections and deaths in the United States and higher vaccination rates. Kaplan said the White House should discuss where the vaccines will be shipped, not whether they will be shipped, and Kaplan added that although the instinct may be to help poor countries first, this may not be the fastest way to end the pandemic. He noted, for example, that India has a limited capacity to vaccinate its population at the moment – about 3 million rounds per day. “Brazil and India may need equipment – ventilators, protective gear – at the moment a lot more than they need vaccines,” Kaplan said, while Canada and other rich countries may benefit more from pumping vaccines that the United States can buy. He said that the United States also needs the help of other countries in developing their manufacturing capabilities, and said, “It is a long-term answer,” because each country will need booster doses of COVID-19, in addition to potential new vaccines to combat variants of the virus. . Otherwise, “the world will do this over and over again.” There is no doubt that the United States has a suitable vaccine pipeline. Last year, the Trump administration pre-purchased 300 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, 200 million each for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, and 100 million each from Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, all of which will be delivered after the vaccines are approved. The Biden administration, which took office on January 20, has purchased another 100 million doses of each of the Moderna, J&J and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. You have enough doses of the vaccine to meet US demand for a vaccine in mid to late May, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation on April 20. After that, the United States will reach “the threshold of enthusiasm” among those who remain reluctant to get vaccinated, although more Americans could drop their objections and line up. Kaplan and others have warned that the Biden administration is delaying sharing its vaccine surplus, the higher the risk that more virulent viral variants will emerge and spin again to reach the US population. “This is very frightening when we look at what is happening in India – in and of itself and what that might mean for the next development of this epidemic,” Hart said. He described India as a “harbinger” as a low-income country. Weak health-care systems and densely populated cities are suffering from catastrophic outbreaks, and crematoriums in India struggle to keep up with rising deaths due to the Coronavirus, with ambulances lining up as far as the eye can see as COVID-19 ravages India, some crematoriums have turned to building funeral cremations. Overseas .USA TODAY, StoryfulMorrison said he understands Biden “does not want to shift in any way out of control of the pandemic in the United States, and we’re not there yet.” In the United States, along with efforts to beat vaccination frequency among the major population. But, “We have to walk and chew gum. We have to end the very promising vaccination campaign in the United States, but not delay in addressing the other five warning fires underway.” Contribution: Karen Weintraub and Mike Stuka