India, U.S. to Collaborate on Covid-19 Vaccine Trials | 20 May 2020

India and the U.S. plan to work together on vaccine research and testing for Covid-19.

Vaccine Action Programme (VAP):
- In the context of the current pandemic, partners under the Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) are planning to collaborate on the development and testing of vaccine candidates and diagnostics for Covid-19.
- The Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program, is a 33-year collaboration between the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) along with other partners.
- Focus is on safe, cost-effective vaccines against a range of infectious diseases.
Other Initiatives:
- 50 ventilators from the U.S. are expected in India shortly, as part of the donation of 200 ventilators announced by the US President.
  - It will be paid for by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of $5.9 million funding announced to date for India.
- The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it would separately fund the Government of India (GoI) $3.6 million to support “prevention, preparedness, and response activities in India, in collaboration with and concurrence from the GoI.”
- India has exported antimalarial drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to the U.S. and several other countries.