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Updated June 4th, 2021 at 19:41 IST

Adar Poonawalla issues big statement as US govt announces global COVID vaccine sharing

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla expressed gratitude to the US Government for its decision on easing restrictions on vaccines and raw materials

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
Adar Poonawalla
IMAGE: PTI/AP | Image:self
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Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Friday expressed gratitude to the United States Government for its latest decision on easing restrictions on the supply of vaccines and raw materials. The Serum Institute CEO took to Twitter to thank US President Joe Biden and his administration and said the White House's decision will hopefully increase the supply of raw materials globally and to India while boosting the vaccine production capacity and strengthening the fight against the pandemic.

This statement by Adar Poonawalla comes after the US Government on Thursday announced the global vaccine sharing programme and also spoke about working with allies and partners to expand the production of vaccines and raw materials.

Adar Poonawalla thanks President Joe Biden and the White House

He also thanked India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar who had recently visited the US to discuss key issues including efforts to thwart COVID-19. Jaishankar was on a 5-day visit to the US where he discussed a range of issues including the QUAD, the Indo-Pacific issues, the LAC standoff in Ladakh, US-India strategic partnership and regional security and the India-US vaccine partnership among other important issues.

US Government's key announcements

The US Government on Thursday announced its global vaccines sharing plan with near about 80 million doses to be supplied across the world by the end of June and a plan for the donation of the first 25 million doses via the UN-backed COVAX. At least 75% of these doses - nearly 19 million - will be shared through COVAX, including approximately 6 million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 7 million for South and Southeast Asia, and approximately 5 million for Africa, working in coordination with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. 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.

Details of allocation of COVID-19 vaccine doses

  • Latin America and Caribbean- 6 million (COVAX)
  • South and Southeast Asia- 7 million (COVAX)
  • Africa- 5 million (COVAX)
  • Countries experiencing surges including Canada, Mexico, India and the Republic of Korea- over 6 million (COVAX)

US Government revokes Defence Production Act

The US Government has decided to revoke the Defence Production Act (DPA) it has imposed on the supply of vaccines to other countries. The White House on Thursday said it will lift the Defense Production Act ratings on the AstraZeneca, Novavax, and Sanofi COVID-19 vaccines. The DPA of the United States was used by the administration to secure national interest by manufacturing and procuring COVID-19 vaccines and to hold back the export of essential raw materials used for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines to counter the threat of the devastating pandemic. However, the US is now lifting restrictions on the supply of vaccines.

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Published June 4th, 2021 at 19:41 IST

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