Split In White House, NSC, On Vaccine Aid Risks Emerging Market Relations

Politico reporting that there are splits within the White House and National Security Council over the potential provision of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to India amid a major escalation in cases, hospitalisations, and deaths from the virus in the south Asian country.

• The story states that senior WH and NSC officials pushed back on requests from health agencies, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development to send doses abroad, after the decision, made at "the highest levels" to send doses to India followed a call between President Biden and Indian PM Narendra Modi on Monday.
• The split evidently comes down the lines of those concerned that stop-start vaccine production in the US and risks of more waves of the virus requires a large stockpile of vaccines, and those that believe the US sitting on a large number of doses adds credence to emerging market criticism of richer nations for 'vaccine hoarding'.
• With the situation in India at critical levels, the US is under global scrutiny for its actions as both a global power and a nation that has already vaccinated a large proportion of its population.