World Responses to Covid Crisis in India

India is reeling from a new coronavirus surge, stretching hospitals to the limit with dire shortages of beds, oxygen and drugs, as the number of new cases rises to record levels each day, creating a national crisis with global repercussions. 

India grapples with a devastating Covid wave that has overwhelmed it’s hospitals, offers of aid, including from Australia, have flooded in from around the world. 

So how do countries react to this?

Australia

Prime minister Scott Morrison says that his government is currently working with India’s to determine how it can assist. The two countries together with the US and Japan, are in a bloc called the Quad, that has pledged to supply a billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine across Asia

USA

In the end of April, the US said it would share 60 million AstraZeneca doses with other countries, the White House also announced it would partially lift the ban, and identify “specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.” However, the announcement did not mention sharing AstraZeneca vaccine doses, of which the US has tens of millions stockpiled. The doses, which have not been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration, have gone unused, with the exception of a few million shots sent to Canada and Mexico.

The UK

The United Kingdom is sending 600 pieces of medical equipment to India, including oxygen concentrators and ventilators, the government announced on 25th April. The aid follows a direct request by Modi to the UK. Western countries have been criticized for vaccine stockpiling, but on 28th April, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK didn’t have any spare vaccines to send. 

Pakistan

Neighboring Pakistan announced it would provide “relief support” in a “gesture of solidarity,” according to a statement from the country’s ministry of foreign affairs. The two nuclear armed states have a long and hostile history, and tensions have risen considerably in the past year. Pakistan is offering to send ventilators, PPE and other medical assistance.

Germany

Germany sent 23 mobile oxygen generation plants for use in military units tending to Covid-19 patients. They arrived in India at the end of April.

France

French president Emmanuel Macron expressed readiness to support India through the crisis. Details of how and what he plans to offer have yet to be revealed. Speaking on behalf of the EU, European Council president Charles Michel echoed Macron’s offer to help. He says they plan to discuss specifics during the India-EU Summit in Brussels on May 8.

China

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian says that Beijing is “ready to provide support and help according to India’s need.” Suspending old rivalries, they are currently in talks with Indian health officials.

If the Indian outbreak can’t be contained and spreads to neighboring countries with low vaccine supplies and weak health systems, experts warn the world risks replicating scenes witnessed in India — especially if newer, potentially more contagious variants are allowed to take hold. And, as India has a leading role in making vaccines for other nations, failing to stop its spread there could endanger the vaccine rollout worldwide.