US refuses sending raw materials of vaccine to India

Aukar dikha diya Joe Biden or Kamala Harris ne

Lat year and many many times, India has supplied Vaccine to US. Serum Institute of India is the biggest in research in the world.

US has no shortage of vaccine btw.

Atleast don't play power games now US.

You guys need to know how the US government works. Biden and Harris can't do much because real policies are made by Congress. The Defense Act banned sending raw materials anywhere while the emergency continues in the US. It isn't India specifically that's being targeted. They have to answer to their own people that they are being taken care of first. Or else before the Defense Act, companies were exporting goods if other countries agreed to pay more than the US did. That's why there was so much trouble initially even in the US just to find simple things like masks.

Contracts with vaccine makers were signed during Trump time and they had clauses which only pertained to the US. And that's because the federal government gave these pharma companies huge amounts of money. These vaccines were invented and created by US taxpayers' money through Operation Warp Speed. All these contracts would have to renegotiated and figured out how to supply to the rest of the world.

So far about 25% of the US has been vaccinated. Until the numbers go higher, the govt can't supply to the rest of the world or then its own people will be pissed. What Modi did was damn stupid sending vaccines elsewhere when nobody in India had them.

What US is doing is shit but that doesn’t absolve Modi government from the crisis they created in the first place by lifting restrictions early , allowing festivals and political rallies to happen etc.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/we-understand-india-s-pharma-requirements-wh-on-vax-raw-material-supply-121042000328_1.html

The Biden administration has conveyed to New Delhi that it understands India's pharmaceutical requirements and promised to give the matter a due consideration, observing that the current difficulty in the export of critical raw materials needed to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines is mainly due to an Act that forces American companies to prioritise domestic consumption.

President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump had invoked the war-time Defence Production Act (DPA) that leaves US companies with no option but to give priority to the production of COVID-19 vaccines and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for domestic production to combat the deadly pandemic in America, the worst-hit nation.

Since the US has ramped up the production of COVID-19 vaccines mostly by Pfizer and Moderna so as to meet the goal of vaccinating its entire population by July 4, the suppliers of its raw material, which is in high demand globally and sought after by major Indian manufacturers, are being forced to provide it only for domestic manufacturers.

Among other things, the DPA, that was enacted in 1950, authorises the president to require businesses to accept and prioritise contracts for materials deemed necessary for national defence, regardless of a loss incurred on business.

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The US so far has had more than 3x as many deaths as India with less than 1/4th the population and is just coming out of the bigger second wave - though some states like Michigan are still in it or in a 3rd wave.

The U.S. has contracted for enough vaccines to vaccinate the entire country (and then some) but much of that hasn't been manufactured yet.

Unfortunately, while it hamstrings selling and exporting to other countries the use of the DPA is the only reason production has ramped up to provide enough vaccines in the U.S. The previous administration's refusal to use the act to make ventilators and PPE early during the pandemic resulted in countless deaths. Relying just on the conscience and generosity of private business does not work.

EDIT: I see hotchoco already covered most of this

https://twitter.com/arungiri/status/1385899432458145792?s=20

This is such a misinformed claim.

The U.S. is doing no such thing as arbitrarily refusing raw material. The government already paid for the vaccines even before the trials in the blind hope they will work. Which was the reason the companies were able to work so fast to get it done.

Now, the American government insists on vaccinating its own people first. It is as it should be. This ain't about aukat as OP stated or about power games. It is about doing what they were elected to do. Take care of Americans.

America and most of the West have also indemnified vaccine makers against adverse events.

India, in the meantime. Is playing games with vaccine makers. The babus in the government want to run their own trials for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to prove they will work on Indians. As though Indians are a separate species!

Also, the government refuses to indemnify companies like the rest of the world is doing.

Pfizer first walked away from distributing in India at all because of the 2nd reason. Regardless, it will be a few months before those vaccines are available in India.

Remember, these are the 2 vaccines with 94 to 96% efficacy as opposed to the 52 to 76% of Covishield.

In the meantime, Indian government also decided to make a name for itself by distributing vaccines outside the country instead of taking care of its own people first. 60 plus millions doses were exported! Even in airplanes, they tell you to put your own mask first.

So instead of believing the blame game put out by government mouthpieces like Kangana, I'd recommend everyone start calling their MPs and giving them some choice French.

The silliness of some people imagining Biden and gang are withholding vaccines because Modi is a Trump supporter!

I'm not a fan of Biden or Trump, but I'd suggest neither is insane enough to condemn 1.2 billion people to death in a fit of political pique.

Want to blame someone?

I'd strongly suspect money is involved in Indian government refusing Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Whoever is profting from the 2 vaccines currently available in India could have held up the approval process for their own benefit.

Corruption at its worst. At the expense of the lives of their own people.

In fact, why don't peeps who are actually active on social media start a campaign.

Farhan Akhtar seems to have cottoned on to what is going on. He put out a tweet. Respond to him, start a hash tag, make phonecalls. Kick up a storm. Ask for already tested vaccines to be fasttracked for approval in India.

I don't know if it will do anything, but saying nothing means nothing will change.

I am so damned frustrated at this. I mean, I'm in the U.S. and got my shots months ago, but I have dearly loved relatives back home. I'd like to see them again.

Covaxin doesn't require these raw materials, plus they have ramped up their production. I'm guessing SII will also manage to get the raw materials needed from somewhere else so the future doesn't seem bleak to me atleast when it comes to vaccines. Also Novavax has approached SII to manufacture its vaccine (read it in some article) so that might help as well. US not providing us these raw materials just makes their stand a bit clearer. Crisis k time pe they'll choose 'nationalism'. Global citizens ka gyan is only for preaching.

To all those cribbing about sending vaccines before vaccinating our own population, vaccines have an expiry date. There is only so much of our 'massive' population you can vaccinate in a day. And thanks to vaccine hesitancy created by the media and other idiots the turn up was anyways too low. Most of the people were like 'Let's wait for a few months and see what happens'. So it was better to give the surplus to other countries. If you have so much time spouting jabs then just take some time out and read about the vaccine wastage which is going on especially concerning Covishield par WhatsApp aur twitter wale answers chipka k cool jo banna hai.

And 'aukat' walo, lovely to see your stand when it comes to such situations. Shows that you can pretend to be the sweetest thing on SM and still be a ****. Farce only goes for so long, eh?

1. There are hospitals in Kerala where people are ready to storm in search of vaccines. I assume there are other spots in India where attitudes are the same.

So no. Don't blame vaccine hesitancy for sending doses out.

2. Covishield shelf life is 6 to 9 months. It hasn't been 6 to 9 months for government to consider shipping it out ASAP because people were refusing.

This is 100% the government's mistake. Don't blame the people.

Besides, the idea now should be to get as many doses as possible. Shout from whatever platform you can for whatever available vaccine to be approved.