Britain has sent a desperate message to India at a time when the second wave of Coronavirus is in dire need of outside help.
Asked on April 27 local time whether Britain planned to export some Coronavirus vaccines to India, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK currently does not have an excess dose of the vaccine (available to India) and is giving priority to vaccinating its own people, Reuters and others reported.
The spokesman pointed out that the UK had indeed pledged in February to provide excess vaccine doses to countries in need, as well as the World Health Organisation-led CoVAX procurement pool. However, the UK is now giving priority to the promotion of vaccinations in the country, so there are no excess doses available to India.
The spokesman also noted that the UK had recognised that real security would only be achieved if everyone was safe at a time when the Coronavirus was raging.
That is why the UK has donated £548 million to COVAX and has provided important medical supplies to India.
It is reported that the United Kingdom has decided to provide India with 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 portable ventilators.
The first batch of 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators arrived in India on the 27th.
The announcement follows a decision by the United States to export about 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, which India is likely to become the largest recipient of, according to the NDTV website.
According to the latest news from NDTV, the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in India climbed to 17636307 on the 27th, with 197,894 deaths and 323,144 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours.
The World Health Organization announced on the 27th, as of the same day, at least 17 countries have been the first found in India, the new coronavirus strain B.1.617.
The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Sumia Swaminathan 26, also said that due to limited testing capacity, India’s pandemic situation is “seriously underestimated”, the actual number of people infected with the Coronavirus may be 20 to 30 times the official report.
