Washington: America said on Tuesday that it is ready to send anti-Covid-19 vaccines as soon as it gets the green signal from the Indian government. India has told the US that it needs some more time to review the legal process for donating vaccines. “We are ready to ship those vaccines as quickly as we get the green light from the Indian government,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has announced to share 80 million doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccines from its domestic stockpile with several countries around the world, including India. In recent weeks, the US has sent vaccines around the world, including to Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Although the Indian government has yet to clear the legal barriers required for such emergency imports, vaccines have not yet been shipped to India. “
Price said, “Before we can send vaccines to them, each country must complete its own domestic formalities of operational, regulatory, and legal procedures that are specific to each country. Right now, India has said it needs a little more time to review the legal provisions for donating vaccines. We will ship the vaccines to India as soon as India completes the legal process.
We are stating this on the basis of discussions held by the Government of India with Covax, which is facilitating the process of shipping the vaccines there.” The UN’s ‘Covax’ initiative aims to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. “Broadly across the region, across South Asia, we are donating millions of vaccines to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Around 40 million doses have been supplied worldwide so far.”
