iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
While the Biden administration had promised to help India fight the COVID situation, there has been no clear-cut strategy on what it is going to do.
Many prominent figures, like Congressmen, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ro Khanna has urged the administration to send the vaccine stockpile to India.
Now the nation’s leading South Asian civic organization, IMPACT has also added their voice and is requesting everyone concerned to add theirs to sign a petition to President Biden to release at least some of the excess vaccines that are stockpiled.
“The pandemic will not end until the world is vaccinated,” Neil Makhija, the Executive Director of IMPACT told indica News.
Applauding the White House for its decision to help India, Makhija called for world cooperation said that what happened in Wuhan, “we all have learned hard lessons about the need for global cooperation. The same lessons apply to the climate crisis. The US must lead by example and step in to address the humanitarian and health crisis in India.”
Through the petition, he stated: “We applaud the decision by the White House to donate the U.S. government’s 60 million surplus vaccine doses to fight the pandemic globally. We urge the White House to send at least half of our vaccine surplus stockpiles to India, where half of the world’s new infections are currently happening.”
He also noted how the second wave has crippled the system with record-breaking infections and death rates, so it is extremely crucial to quick actions.
“This heartbreaking tragedy must be met with swift action from allies across the globe led by the United States,” he added.
He says in the petition, “As we reach out to members of Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration, it’s crucial to show them that our communities are calling on the U.S. government to respond to this global health crisis with a response proportional to the scale of the crisis. This means that no less than half of the surplus U.S. vaccines should be redirected to fight the pandemic in India.”
He also thanked all the members of Congress who have added their voice to help India.
“We thank the South Asian members of Congress and our allies — such as Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and Andy Kim — for being the leading voices in the fight to help India. But Congress and the White House still need to hear our collective voices to make sure the surplus vaccines are donated to India, where they are needed most.”
He also did not fail to remind that this second wave rampage may be an Indian problem at the moment, but if not checked and controlled, it could another global catastrophe and urged the US government to provide the best resources to curb the spread.
He said, “The current COVID-19 outbreak is not a problem confined to India. Experts have repeatedly warned that allowing the virus to spread unchecked increases the risk that dangerous new strains will emerge. The current surge in India will prolong the global crisis without a swift global response. This massive humanitarian crisis cannot be met with charitable efforts alone, and requires leveraging the resources of the U.S. Government.”
