Quad Partnership On Track To Produce 1 Billion COVID Doses In India: Joe Biden

Biden added that the US would provide an additional $370 million to help deliver and administer the shots globally.

US President Joe Biden

(Photo: AP via PTI/File photo)

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, 22 September, said the Quad partnership is on track to produce at least a billion vaccine doses in India by 2022, reported PTI. Biden was virtually addressing the 'Global Summit to End COVID-19'.

"We're working with partner nations, pharmaceutical companies, and other manufacturers to increase their own capacity and capability to produce and manufacture safe and highly effective vaccines in their own countries," Biden said.

"For example, our Quad partnership with India, Japan, and Australia is on track to help produce at least 1 billion vaccine doses in India to boost the global supply by the end of 2022. And we're providing financing and helping strengthen manufacturing in South Africa, and produce more than 500 million doses of J&J in Africa for Africa next year," he added.

The Quad group comprises Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

Biden announced that the US would be "providing an additional USD 370 million to support administering these shots and delivery globally", news agency ANI reported.

Biden also said that the US was buying another half a billion doses of Pfizer, which they would be donating to low and middle-income countries worldwide, reported PTI.

"Today, I'm announcing another historic commitment. The United States is buying another half-billion doses of Pfizer to donate to low and middle-income countries around the world. This is another half-billion doses that will all be shipped by this time next year, and it brings our total commitment to a donation, of donated vaccines, to over 1.1 billion vaccines to be donated."

US President Joe Biden

"Put another way, for every one shot we've administered to date in America, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world," he added.

Biden also thanked Pfizer and its CEO and chairman, Albert Bourla, and announced the EU-US vaccine partnership.

"They've been and continue to be partners and the leader of this fight. The United States is leading the world on vaccination donations. As we are doing that, we need other high-income countries to deliver on their own ambitious vaccine donations and pledges. That's why today, we're launching the EU-US vaccine partnership to work more closely together and with our partners and expanding global vaccinations," Mr Biden said.

The US has already shipped around 160 million doses to 100 countries, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day visit to the US, where he will meet with several personages, including US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, spoke about the need to focus on addressing the pandemic's economic effects. "To that end, international travel should be made easier, through mutual recognition of vaccine certificates," he said.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)