Covid: India, US to partner on developing Covid vaccine; Pompeo calls up Jaishankar

Sandeep Dikshit 

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 1

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today called up his counterpart S Jaishankar to discuss prospects of a closer all-round Indo-US partnership in combating Covid.

“Our close cooperation is imperative to combat the coronavirus, including strengthening global pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing and supply chains,’’ Pompeo told Jaishankar according to a US State Department readout. The two leaders also touched upon the burgeoning partnership in the Asia Pacific and other parts of the globe.

Senior State Department official Alice Wells followed up Pompeo’s social media post by hoping that India and US would collaborate in developing a vaccine to end the Covid epidemic just like they had partnered for over 25 years to develop the rotavirus vaccine that is expected to save the lives of 80,000 children in the country every year.

The two foreign ministers also dwelt on the need to keep open supply chains, especially for Covid-related medical equipment and medicines. Trade chiefs of G-20 countries during a videoconferencing session on Monday had also discussed this issue of countries wanting to preserve stocks of medicines and food for their citizens versus catering to the humanitarian needs of people in other countries.

Several countries have criticised Russia for cutting down on grain exports and countries have been cajoled into lifting the ban on exports of all but critically required personal protection equipment.

The conversation between Pompeo and Jaishankar are part of worldwide effort by world leaders to constantly keep in touch by video conferencing and phone conversations in order to facilitate problem solving on global finance and health collaboration issues.

The South and Central Asia wing of the US State Department also appreciated the innovation by an Indian boy to avoid touching elevator buttons and stop spreading germs. The eighth class boy from Noida made a board of matchsticks at home and set it up in his apartment building so that the elevator can be used without directly touching the buttons.

The first virus India-US collaboration program was part of a multinational, multi-institute effort on Rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrheal diseases in children worldwide. It began in 1990 and led to the production and supply of over three crore doses of Rotovac vaccine to children in India.

Among those who contributed technical, manufacturing and financial resources toward vaccine development were Society for Applied Studies, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AIIMS (India), IISc (India), Department of Biotechnology (India), Stanford University School of Medicine, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Bharat Biotech, UK Department for International Development and the Research Council of Norway. 

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