Pressure On Biden Admin To Ship AstraZeneca Jab, Medical Supplies To India

"India is not a faraway problem. In pandemic time and distance, every place is nearby," the Washington Post said in a lead editorial.

The Biden administration has come under intense pressure from various quarters, including the powerful US Chambers of Commerce, lawmakers and eminent Indian-Americans, to ship AstraZeneca and other COVID-19 vaccines along with several life-saving medical supplies to India, which is witnessing a deadly surge in coronavirus cases. "As the Covid pandemic inflicts a heavy toll on countries around the globe, the US Chamber strongly encourages the administration to release the millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses in storage - as well as other life-saving support - for shipment to India, Brazil, and other nations hard-hit by the pandemic," said Myron Brilliante, executive vice-president and head of international affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce. He said these vaccine doses will not be needed in the United States, where it's estimated that vaccine manufacturers will be able to produce enough doses by early June to inoculate every American. This move will affirm US leadership, including in initiatives such as COVAX, and as we work with partners around the globe because no one is safe from the pandemic until we are all safe from it, Myron Brilliante said.