PM Modi terrific, ‘will not be forgotten’: Trump

PTI, Apr 9, 2020, 8:45 AM IST

Washington: Amid the medical fraternity racing against time for a panacea against COVID-19, which has infected a whopping 4.3 lakh Americans and claimed over 14,600 lives, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, April 8 thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing export of Hydroxychloroquine, deemed a possible cure against the disease.

“I want to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested for the problem arose and he was terrific. We will remember it,” Trump told reporters at his daily White House news conference on coronavirus.

In a tweet, hours earlier, Trump praised Modi for his strong leadership and said that India’s help during this crisis will not be forgotten.

“Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten!” he said.

“Thank you, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight!” Trump said in a tweet that son went viral. It was retweeted more than 60,000 times and liked by over two lakhs Twitterati.

By Wednesday night, more than 14,600 Americans had lost their lives due to coronavirus and over 4.3 lakhs have tested positive for the dreaded disease.

Scientists and the medical fraternity are racing against time to find a vaccine and a therapeutic solution to it.

Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York. Anticipating that it will work, given initial positive results, Trump has bought more than 30 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine for potential treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Trump, in a phone call last week, had requested Prime Minister Modi to release the hold on American order of the malaria drug, of which India is the major producer. India lifted the hold on Tuesday.

India on Monday agreed to lift the ban on export of Hydroxychloroquine to the US. Three Gujarat-based companies would export these tablets to the US, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Tuesday. India manufactures 70 per cent of the world’s supply of Hydroxychloroquine, according to Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) secretary-general Sudarshan Jain.

The country has a production capacity of 40 tonnes of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) every month, implying 20 crore tablets of 200 mg each. And since the drug is also used to auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, manufacturers have good production capacities that can also be ramped up.