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WHITE HOUSE CALLS INDIA AN IMPORTANT MANUFACTURER OF VACCINES FOR THE WORLD

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The White House acknowledged that India is a significant vaccine manufacturer for the world and that it was essential to the worldwide supply of COVID-19 vaccinations.


At a press conference held here on Tuesday, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, told reporters that "because of its incredible manufacturing capacity, (India) has been a major exporter of vaccines."


In response to a query, Dr. Jha stated that the Joe Biden administration valued the QUAD cooperation on coronavirus, which is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the US.


“I think India is an important manufacturer of vaccines for the world. I mean not just for India itself, this is a really important thing,” he said at the White House news conference.


Dr. Jha defended the Biden administration's decision to provide vaccines to all countries, saying that the US will continue to do so for all low-income and numerous low- and middle-income nations.


“There are about 100 countries that are eligible to get free vaccines through COVAX -- where we donate the vaccines still available for donation,” he said. According to Dr Jha, every major variant that hit the US originated from outside the country. “So, the notion that we can somehow wall ourselves off and not be affected by what's happening in the rest of the world is just naïve,” he said.


It's just not how spreadable infections like these function. Therefore, even if you only consider your own limited self-interest, it's crucial that we develop a global immunisation programme and vaccinate a large portion of the population. Beyond self-interest, though, America is a nation that has been actively involved in the world, he continued.


According to Dr. Jha, Biden has "very differently" led the United States in terms of global health than the previous president.


“So, for a whole set of reasons, it's very, very important that America continues to lead, €4.02 billion is a small investment to make to better protect Americans and better protect the world,” he said.