On Friday, for the second day in a row, India reported a record number of over 400,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day, and nearly 4,000 people died.
European leaders, including Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, discussed the situation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the EU Social Summit in Porto. The meeting was held by video link because Modi had to cancel his trip to Porto because of the pandemic.
Plenković expressed solidarity with India on Croatia’s behalf and announced assistance as part of the European Union. Some of the member states, such as Spain, which has sent 167 ventilators this week, announced material aid.
Some EU heads of government, including Plenković and Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, said during the EU summit that it was essential that COVID-19 vaccines reached all parts of the world.
Some countries, led by Germany, where pharmaceutical companies are based, opposed the initiative to waive patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines. The initiative was launched by India and South Africa, and last week it was joined by the new US administration of President Joe Biden.
Plenković told the Croatian media on Friday that this was a positive initiative because vaccine doses would become cheaper, while Sánchez said that there was no point in the EU achieving its vaccination goal if the rest of the world lagged behind.
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