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In just over two weeks, Bhutan has Successfully vaccinated more of its population than any country in the world but the Seychelles.
When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the first day, supressing Israel, the United States, Bahrain, and other vaccinating countries known for vaccinating people rapidly.
Those countries took several months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutan’s vaccination campaign is nearly finished —in just 16 days after it began.
The small Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93 percent of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62 percent of its total 800,000 people.
The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the small nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66 percent of its total population of nearly 100,000 people.
Its small population helped Bhutan move fast, but its success has also been attributed to its dedicated citizen volunteers and health workers, known as “desuups,” and established cold chain storage used during earlier covid vaccination drives.
Bhutan received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the India in January, but the shots were distributed beginning in late March to coincide with auspicious date in Buddhist astrology.
The first dose was administered by and given to a woman born in the Year of the Monkey, accompanied by chants of spiritual Buddhist prayers.
“Let this small step of mine today help us all prevail through this pandemic,” the recipient, 30-year-old Ninda Dema, was quoted by the country’s Kuensel newspaper as stating.
Dr. Pandup Tshering, secretary to the Health Ministry, said jabs were still being provided to those who could not get vaccinated during the campaign and that the country had enough doses of vaccine to cover its entire population.
Bhutan has recorded 921 covid infections and one death since the pandemic began. As of April 12, there are still 45 active cases in the country.
Bhutan has a mandatory 21days quarantine for all people entering the country. All schools and educational institutions are open and are monitored for compliance with COVID-19 precautions, Tshering stated.
Bhutan is the last remaining Buddhist kingdom in the beautiful Himalayas. But the country has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a democratic one, constitutional monarchy.
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