On May 8th, India reported its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day. Within 24 hours, India’s health ministry had reported 4,187 deaths, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has estimated that the total death count for COVID deaths in India will be at least 1 million by August. At this point, about half of India’s states have imposed a total lockdown, while the rest are under a partial lockdown. This second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in India's healthcare system being brought to the brink of collapse. Many nations around the world have been consulting with the Indian government to provide help in the midst of India’s crisis, including the United States with a delayed response. Joe Biden pledged to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, that the United States would provide a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics. Some Indian concerns regarding the United States have been exposed during India’s struggle to deal with the staggering number of coronavirus deaths and cases it is enduring. The late response from Washington was for multiple reasons, including the fact that Biden’s overextended administration has only a few senior India-focused officials in place, and there is caution regarding the planning of overseas assistance when we are already fighting the pandemic ourselves. The United State’s delay brought about and hardened the perception that Washington isn’t a dependable partner in the views of some Indian commentators and prominent Indian politicians. In addition to this, criticisms arose in the Indian press as a result of statements made by Ned Price, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State during a press conference about U.S. export restrictions. Price had stated what the Biden administration had been saying for months; that they held the American people as a priority, and that it was not only in the United States’s interest to get Americans vaccinated, but the rest of the world as well. While the Indian press and public displayed frustration and impatience, Indian leadership had shown understanding and didn’t criticize the U.S. However, as the health situation in India deteriorated, this began to change. Although the Biden administration had made cooperation with India the main focus in the Indo-Pacific, U.S.-India relations were looking bleak. Chinese state media ran stories that blamed the U.S. for the situation India was in.
Now that the United States is providing assistance to India, is the previously delayed help a concern now that some Indian leadership and the Indian press are criticizing our efforts? Should the Biden administration be putting more effort into helping India to decrease tensions or should they be more focused on the United States to resolve our own issues regarding the pandemic?
I think that the little media coverage also shows how little we have valued this problem. Personally, I didn't know how big of a problem this was until reading this. Hopefully India gets the help that it needs to battle the coronavirus. Despite this, I don't think that we should blame the US for the problem. We can critize ourselves for the lack of response, but not for the problem in the first place. It is also important to note that this is during a global pandemic and all countries are affected by the coronavirus. This means that all countries are also trying to battle the coronavirus at their own home front. This also applies to the US. This is why I believe that it is important to help other countries, but also value helping our own people first. -Brooke H.
ReplyDeleteWith the media being bias, I don't think they are uncovering everything. But until the subject was brought up, many people are concerned, in which they should be, because the well-being of an entire nation is at hand. I think that the Biden administration is doing all that they can do to help the situation rather than worsen it. -Jameson H.
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