Members of the influential Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the United States have urged US President Joe Biden to champion vaccine collaboration with India in order to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to Biden dated March 10, Texas delegation members and other members (Hispanic areas) asked the administration to lead the distribution of low-cost vaccines to low-income nations with low vaccination rates in order to save millions of lives and end the global pandemic.
The lawmakers urged the President to use the two vaccines developed as a result of India-US collaborations for the benefit of the global community and to end vaccine inequity through Corbevax and Covovax.
While the CORBEVAX vaccine is patent-free, another vaccine developed by the American biotechnology company Novavax is currently being manufactured in India and will be exported to the COVAX facility.
“We believe the United States has an opportunity to champion these vaccines developed by American expertise for countries where vaccine inequality is wreaking havoc on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people,” the legislators wrote.
“To that end, the United States can work with other countries to ensure an equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. We ask the White House to consider using these vaccines in collaboration with countries around the world, similar to the QUAD vaccine initiative, and to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine “They stated.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, Vice-Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and Democratic Women’s Caucus; Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, House Judiciary and House Financial Services Committees; Congresswoman Vicente Gonzalez, House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Congresswoman Jimmy Gomez, Vice-Chair of the House Committees on Oversight and Reform and Ways and Means, signed the letter.
This letter is in addition to those written by the influential Congressional Black Caucus, which praised the Indian government for its efforts to assist Africa and the Caribbean.
The letter, signed by the Caucus’ Chairwoman, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, also named India as a key partner in the fight to end vaccine inequity in the developing world.
Congressmen Michael San Nicolas, Juan Vargas, Jim Costa, Darren Soto, Ro Khanna, and Linda Sanchez also signed the letter.
For more than a year, India’s Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and India’s diplomatic missions have focused on promoting India-US vaccine collaborations with the US Congress, administration, think tanks, and industry.
Over 100 members of the House of Representatives have supported India’s proposal for a TRIPS waiver at the WTO for COVID-19 vaccines as a result of congressional outreach.
Notably, there was also targeted outreach to key Caucuses on this issue, including the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Caucus.
