U.S. to send $100 mln in COVID supplies to India

U.S. to send $100 mln in COVID supplies to India

The United States is sending supplies worth more than $100 million to India to help it fight a surge of COVID-19 cases, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bryan Wood reports.

The U.S. on Wednesday announced its sending more than $100 million dollars worth of supplies to India, as the country struggles to fight a massive surge in COVID-19 cases.

In a statement, the White House set out a timeline.

On Thursday, supplies will start to arrive and continue into next week.

The help includes 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 million rapid diagnostic tests.

The U.S. has also redirected an order of vaccination supplies to India, enough to manufacture up to 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca option.

The White House said, "Just as India sent assistance to the United States when our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need.” India’s death toll surged past 200,000 earlier this week.

That number is still climbing because of shortages of supplies, like medical-grade oxygen and hospital beds.