Bhutan is set to become the world’s first country to vaccinate all its eligible population by this month’s end. It has already administered the first dose of the Covid vaccines to 97 per cent of the eligible population in a record nine-day period in March. 

Lotey Tshering, the country’s doctor-prime minister, has on Wednesday announced it has secured enough vaccines to provide the second dose to all people. The immunization program will resume on 19 July or 20. The drive will be completed by the month-end, Tshering was quoted as saying by Kuensel newspaper. 

The Bhutanese government has received confirmation of about 550,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from donor countries. Around half of it, 250,000 doses, are being donated by Denmark.  Kuensel reported the shipment is likely to arrive by the weekend. 

Tshering also informed that the country has secured enough supplies of mRNA vaccines, Pfizer, and Moderna to vaccinate children also. 

A country of over 700,000 people with very limited resources, Bhutan made global news for its effective prevention of the Covid spread. Also, it had garnered worldwide attention when it administered the first dose of vaccines to all in a record nine days period in March.   

At a time, when the recent Covid wave has ravaged the region, the small Buddhist kingdom managed to keep the infection count below thousand. 

Currently, a few districts in the southern part which borders India are reporting a few cases. However, not a single person in the recent wave needed intensive care or oxygen supply assistance in the country. And, this is when the prevalence of the highly infectiousus Delta variant was confirmed. 

 (SAM)