White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials have expressed concern over the coronavirus outbreak in India and pledged to deploy support for the healthcare workers here.
Several prominent figures have voiced their support for India, demanding the Biden administration to send COVID vaccines to the country.
Sullivan on Sunday, 25 April, tweeted, "We are working around the clock to deploy more supplies and support to our friends and partners in India."
Blinken, too, made a similar statement.
Earlier, President Joe Biden's administration had stated that it had a “special responsibility towards the American people”, while responding to the requests made by India to lift the ban on the export of vaccine raw material to the country.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price had gone on to state that it was in the “interest of the rest of the world to see Americans vaccinated”.
Voices Demanding Biden's Help to India Gather Support
However, several voices have joined in to demand help for India.
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Saturday called on Biden's administration to release doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for India, from the 40 million doses currently in the US stockpile.
US Chamber of Commerce, a powerful trade body, had urged the Biden administration to give vaccines and life-saving support to countries like India and Brazil, in a statement on Friday.
Several senators and political representatives, such as Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts and Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, also urged the US President to ensure help for India.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said that they were “working closely with Indian officials at both political and experts' level to identify ways to help address the crisis”.
(With inputs from ANI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)