WASHINGTON: Dramatically ramping up COVID-19 vaccination drive is key to ending the crisis in India and extending the gap between two doses of Covishield is a "reasonable approach," White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci told ANI in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
"When you are in a very difficult situation, the way you are in India, you have to try and figure out ways to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as you can, so I believe that it is a reasonable approach to do," Fauci said.
On Thursday, the Government of India announced that the gap between the first and second doses of the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine has been increased to 12-16 weeks - from the existing 6-8 weeks. This is for the second time in three months that Covishield dosage intervals have been widened and this move has once again garnered criticism, as a cover-up for not having enough vaccines for the people in India. However, Dr Fauci said that this "extended interval" is beneficial even from the efficacy standpoint.
"The fact that you delay it that long, it is very unlikely that it would have a negative effect on the efficacy of the vaccine. I would not refer to it as a cover up when you don't have enough vaccines," Fauci told ANI.
India is most likely to roll out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus to be administered to citizens starting next week.
With this, India will now have three vaccines to boost its mega vaccination drive which was recently opened for those above 18 years.
When asked about the efficacy of the Sputnik V Vaccine, "I've heard about the Sputnik, is that, it seems to be quite efficacious, at a high level of close to 90 per cent or so," Fauci responded.
Last year, when the US was battling with the surge of COVID-19 cases, the Department of Defense docked two naval warships--USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort--on the coasts of New York and Los Angeles to step up the efforts in combating the virus.
Dr Fauci, one of COVID's most trusted names, suggests that India should step up the role of the armed forces in combating COVID-19.
"You can use the military sometimes to get things done quickly that you otherwise in the private sector would not be able to, for example, I know that there's a shortage of hospital beds right now that people who need to be in a hospital or not getting into a hospital because of the shortage of the beds, you can get the military to put up field hospitals, the same way they would during time of war, that could serve as a substitute for the classic hospital." Fauci told ANI.
While replying to a query on resuming travel to India amid the pandemic, Fauci said, "It really is going to depend on the level of infection right now. India has a very very high level of infection. And that would mean that it would be very very difficult to resume travel there right now."
As more people around the world become vaccinated and the summer travel season is approaching, countries around the world are scrambling to get digital health certification programs or Vaccine passports in place.
However, Fauci says that US borders will not have the vaccine passport mandate.
"Several of the airlines may say you're not going to be able to fly on our flight, unless you have a verification that you've been vaccinated, in essence- a vaccine passport, but again to repeat that at least in the United State-that is not going to be mandated from a federal standpoint."
India is currently experiencing a devastating surge of COVID-19 with record-breaking cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The country's health care system is teetering on the edge of collapse as hospitals are overcrowded and much-needed medical supplies are in low supply.
He also said that it is imperative for India to collaborate with other countries, and companies to ramp up its vaccine production capability to vaccinate country's huge population against COVID-19.
Calling India as one of the best vaccine producer in the world, the leading American infectious disease expert said,"It's a very very large country with a population of about 1.4 billion people, you only have a couple of percentage of the people who are fully vaccinated and over about 10 per cent or so that have at least one dose so you've got to work out arrangements with other countries, other companies at the same time as ramping up your own capability of making vaccines because as we all know, India is one of the best if not the biggest vaccine producer in the world."
As several countries have announced support for India's response to a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections that has hit healthcare facilities across the country, Dr Fauci told ANI in an exclusive interview: "There was the immediate issue that needs to be addressed as taking care of the people that are already infected. Getting better supplies of oxygen, oxygen cylinders, oxygen generators, PPEs, therapies like Remdesivir and things like that; the things that the US has helped with, but then probably in the intermediate and long run, you've got to figure out a way how to get as many vaccinations, administered to the people of India as possible."
Noting that the B.1.617 mutant first detected in India has been found in over 40 countries including the US, he said, "in the ongoing crisis, the rich countries have a moral responsibility to assist those countries that don't have the capability of doing that, particularly the low and middle-income countries."
Dr Fauci, who is the Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is also the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden.
Regarding the use of vaccine passports in post-pandemic travel, the infectious diseases expert said that they are not going to be mandated by the US government, is likely not to go forward with them, but also noted that several airlines may say that they will not include persons who don't have vaccination verification.
Speaking on resuming travel with India, Fauci told ANI: "It is really going to depend on the level of infection right now. India has a very very high level of infection and that would mean that it would be very very difficult to resume travel there right now."
India is currently dealing with a second COVID-19 wave that has swept through the nation, straining the country's health infrastructure and overburdening frontline medical workers.
Several countries around the globe including the UK, Russia, and the US have extended support to India as it continues to struggle with the increase in its health infrastructure needs.
The Union Health Ministry on Thursday informed that 17.72 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in India till now.
"Ten states account for 66.73 per cent of the cumulative doses given so far in the country. More than 34 lakh beneficiaries of age group 18-44 vaccinated under Phase-3 of Vaccination Drive," said Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal.
The country had started the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 with two vaccines -- Covishield (Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech Limited).
The vaccination drive for those between 18 and 45 years of age started in many parts of the country from May 1.