The Modi Shot: Biden Pressuring India To Export Vaccines To Slow Global COVID Spread

The Biden administration is reportedly in talks with the Indian government about when the latter would resume COVID-19 vaccine exports, a senior administration official has said.

There are also plans to offer a higher-profile role for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the global summit to be held in New York on Sept. 24 if he agrees to release vaccines soon, reported Axios.

Though the administration official acknowledged discussing vaccine exports, they denied they're tied to Modi's upcoming participation.

"We have regularly been communicating with [the] government of India in bilateral and multilateral channels to discuss vaccine supply and inquire about the timeline for exports, and these conversations are not tied to a specific summit or engagement," the U.S. official told Axios on the condition of anonymity.

India, known as a global vaccine hub, had donated or sold at least 66 million doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine to nearly 100 countries before it barred exports in the middle of April after a disastrous second wave wreaked havoc in the country.

However, the country's vaccine production has doubled since April and is set to rise again in the coming weeks. Though it is expected that the exports will resume since half the adult population of India got at least one jab, there is no official word yet from the Indian Government.

The report added that convincing Modi to resume exports is an important part of the Biden administration's strategy to control the spread of virus, because the uncontrolled spread of the virus inevitably produces more dangerous variants.

Though the U.S. has also reserved hundreds of millions of doses for boosters, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has hinted that the President will make some new announcements ahead of the summit, which will see the participation of the leaders of the 'Quad' countries - Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.

However, Axios reported that Biden aides have decided against trying to "strong-arm Modi by conditioning his participation on his willingness to release vaccines" as they understand vaccine diplomacy is a delicate subject with the Indians.

The U.S. government under Trump had strong-armed India into lifting a ban on hydroxychloroquine exports last year. India had banned all export of the drug after the outbreak began to spread, but Trump had warned of "retaliation." Hydroxychloroquine, an old and inexpensive drug used to treat malaria, was then seen as a viable therapeutic solution by Trump to coronavirus.

But, India's ban on vaccine exports and Biden reserving millions of doses for booster shots had pushed the COVAX program, the global vaccine distribution program, into jeopardy. Though COVAX had planned to deliver 785 million doses by now, it could deliver only 245 million to poorer nations. This has prompted the project partners to call on countries that already have enough doses to give up their place in the queue.