Kamala Harris calls PM Modi; US to share Covid vaccines with India by June
The US administration has decided to share 19 million doses of vaccines globally through Covax. Another six million will be shared directly with countries "experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbours, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the Republic of Korea", US President Joe Biden said in a statement.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and informed him about the United States' global allocation plan of the first 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Apart from PM Modi, Harris spoke to Mexico President Andres Manuel López Obrador, Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley.
"In four separate calls, the Vice President notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of Covid vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June," Senior advisor and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders said in a statement on Harris's calls with foreign leaders.
The Biden-Harris administration on Thursday released its vaccination sharing plan in which India features along with several other countries which will receive vaccines from the US either through Covax or directly.
The vaccine doses are likely to be shared with the countries by June as the US administration plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June. The details of the first 25 million doses were released on Thursday. Out of these 25 million, 19 million doses will be shared through Covax, the vaccine coalition of the World Health Organization. "The remaining doses, just over 6 million, will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbours, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the Republic of Korea," the President's statement read.
After the call, PM Modi took to Twitter and thanked Kamala Harris for "all the support and solidarity from the US government, businesses and Indian diaspora". "We also discussed ongoing efforts to further strengthen India-US vaccine cooperation, and the potential of our partnership to contribute to post-Covid global health and economic recovery," PM Modi wrote.
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