Quad goals: US, Indo-Pacific allies to up India’s vaccine output

The effort by the Quad – an alliance consisting of Australia, India, Japan and the US – is projected to allow India to increase manufacturing capacity by one billion doses by 2022, the White House said.

United States President Joe Biden and fellow leaders of the Indo-Pacific group known as the Quad have announced a plan to expand coronavirus vaccine manufacturing capacity in India. The effort to expand production and promote access to the vaccine in the region was unveiled Friday following a virtual meeting of the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US. It comes as the Biden administration is putting greater emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region in the face of growing economic competition from China. Biden described the effort as “an ambitious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing … to benefit the entire Indo-Pacific” region.