Trio of Nations May Counter Beijing's Vaccine Offer to India

WASHINGTON - As India sets new daily records in COVID-19 deaths and infections, some experts see the humanitarian crisis as an opportunity for other nations to counter China's vaccine diplomacy elsewhere. This is a monumental moment in the fight against #COVID19. The commitment by @POTUS Joe Biden & @USTradeRep @AmbassadorTai to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of 🇺🇸 leadership to address global health challenges. pic.twitter.com/3iBt3jfdEr

Three of the nations that make up the Quad — U.S., Australia and Japan — are expected to assist the fourth, India, after U.S. President Joe Biden promised April 26 to provide New Delhi with the antiviral drug remdesivir, which is used in treating COVID-19, as well as with parts needed in machines that produce vaccines. India has its own vaccine production capacity and is a center of vaccine manufacturing. India recorded more than 400,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, raising the number of cases to over 21,077,410, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center in Baltimore. The death toll in India is 230,168 people, according to the center. Beijing has repeatedly offered to help New Delhi but has been rejected in part because of anti-China sentiment in India based on long-simmering border tensions that occasionally erupt into deadly violence.