Story at a glance
- Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the global response to India’s COVID-19 crisis has been largely inadequate and magnified ongoing health care inequities.
- India reported more than 360,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, marking a new global record over a 24-hour period.
- “There are responsibilities that countries have to each other, particularly if you’re a wealthy country and you’re dealing with countries that don’t have the resources or capabilities that you have,” Fauci said.
Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the global response to India’s COVID-19 crisis has been largely inadequate and magnified ongoing health care inequities.
“The only way that you’re going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world,” Fauci told the Guardian.
“And that’s something that, unfortunately, has not been accomplished,” Fauci added. “Often when you have diseases in which there is a limited amount of intervention, be it therapeutic or prevention, this is something that all the countries that are relatively rich countries or countries that have a higher income have to pay more attention to.”
India reported more than 360,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, marking a new global record over a 24-hour period. The country reported global highs five out of the previous six days. India’s health ministry said that the death toll has exceeded 200,000, according to the Guardian.
Data from the World Health Organization shows more than 130 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in India.
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Additionally, Fauci told the Guardian he believes the world needs to provide more than what COVAX is able to supply and that it is incumbent upon rich countries to aid India as much as possible. The U.S. is sending oxygen, remdsivir and personal protective equipment, Fauci added.
“Right now it’s a terrible tragic situation where people are dying because there’s not enough oxygen, where there’s not enough hospital beds,” Fauci said. “We have to try, looking forward, to get as much equity when it comes to public health issues as we possibly can.”
“Because we’re all in this together. It’s an interconnected world. And there are responsibilities that countries have to each other, particularly if you’re a wealthy country and you’re dealing with countries that don’t have the resources or capabilities that you have.”
WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus amplified the ongoing vaccine inequalities on the anniversary of the COVAX dose sharing plan last week.
“Nearly 900 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 81 percent have gone to high- or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.3 percent,” Tedros said.
WHO announced Tuesday that the new COVID-19 cases worldwide have risen for the ninth consecutive week, with almost 5.7 million new cases in the last week. New deaths increased for the sixth straight week at more than 87,000.
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