Quad vaccine pact for Asia 'on track' despite India crisis -U.S. officials

FILE PHOTO: The word "COVID-19" is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle in this illustration taken November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An agreement between the United States and three of its closest Indo-Pacific partners to produce up to a billion coronavirus vaccine doses in India by the end of 2022 to supply other Asian countries is "still on track," senior U.S. officials said on Monday, despite a surge of COVID-19 in India.

"It's moving forward expeditiously," a senior administration official told reporters in a briefing call, referring to the agreement last month between the leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia, a grouping known as the Quad.