US inquiring about Indian vaccine exports ahead of Quad meeting
The US is communicating regularly with India through bilateral and multilateral channels to discuss supplies of Covid-19 vaccines and inquire about a timeline for restarting exports, a senior Joe Biden administration official told Reuters.
The supply of Covid vaccines will be one of the key issues of discussion during the first in-person Quad leadership meeting in Washington involving Joe Biden and Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India, Scott Morrison of Australia, and Yoshihide Suga of Japan on September 24, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
Previously, the Quad leaders held their first summit virtually in March and agreed to work closely on Covid-19 vaccines.
India had to halt its vaccine exports after following a devastating second wave of Covid-19.
The WHO Covax initiative for supplying vaccines to low and middle-income countries is dependent on supplies from India which, however, is looking to boost domestic production of the jabs in a race to vaccinate all 94 crore adults by the end of 2021.
The country has so far administered at least the first shot to 76 crore adults.
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