Photo: ReutersPrime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the "storm" of infections had shaken India, as the country set a global record of the most number of Covid-19 infections in a day. The United States said it would immediately provide raw materials for one of the Covid-19 vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond. The number of cases in India surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks. The United States has faced criticism in India for its export controls on raw materials for vaccines put in place via the Defense Production Act and an associated export embargo in February. On Sunday, a White House spokeswoman said the United States would send raw materials required for India to manufacture Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine licensed by SII.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 25, 2021 18:11 UTC