3 US Senators Urge Biden Administration To Accelerate COVID-19 Assistance To India

The US must work with the Indian government on their response, as well as continue to lead the international efforts to stop the spread of variants and to deliver the assistance needed to the Indian people, they said.

Three top US senators have urged the Biden administration to ramp up its COVID-19 assistance to India, saying the country is currently registering over 3,00,000 new cases every day and its health care system is struggling to keep up with the surge. Commending for recent actions to help India address the crisis, the three senators in a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken also urged the administration to continue its robust contribution to the WHO's COVAX plan and prepare a detailed strategy on how the US can distribute its surplus of vaccines. Senators Mark Warner, John Cornyn, and Ron Portman warned of "disinformation campaigns surrounding the vaccines by countries such as China and Russia", and urged the administration to do everything it can to combat these campaigns. Mark Warner and John Cornyn are Co-Chairs of the Senate India Caucus. Mark Warner is from the Democratic Party, while John Cornyn and Portman are from the opposition Republican Party.