US to fund Hyderabad’s Biological E to make 1 bn Covid vaccine doses

Quad leaders decided to launch a mega vaccine initiative under which coronavirus vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region with financial assistance from the US and Japan

New Delhi: The US will provide financial assistance to support Indian drug-maker Biological E’s effort to produce at least 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2022, a document released by the White House after the Quad summit said.

The Quad leaders, at a virtual summit, decided to launch a mega vaccine initiative under which coronavirus vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region with financial assistance from the US and Japan, while Australia will contribute in logistical aspects. In the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga, vowed to work unitedly on manufacturing and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, seen as an effort to counter China’s expanding vaccine diplomacy.

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“United in our fight against Covid-19, we launched a landmark Quad partnership to ensure accessibility of safe Covid-19 vaccines. India’s formidable vaccine production capacity will be expanded with support from Japan, US & Australia to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific region,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted. The fact sheet released by the White House said Quad partners were working collaboratively to achieve expanded manufacturing of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines at facilities in India.