Almost 90,000 individuals registered for the COVID-19 vaccine in the country so far. The health ministry opened the programme’s online registration portal on 21st February. However, according to the health minister, there is no exact date to start the vaccination.
Thimphu recorded the highest number of people registering for the vaccination programme followed by Samtse and Chhukha.
“There is no exact date when we will start the vaccination. But it is important to line list. We will know how many vaccines we need in each district. And this will enhance our planning process as well,” said Dechen Wangmo, the Health Minister.
Meanwhile, the majority of people who took the health ministry’s online vaccine survey are willing to take the jab. The ministry conducted the survey for interested individuals, last month. Of some 7,500 respondents, almost 60 per cent were willing to get the COVID-19 shot while only one per cent was unwilling. Others probably wanted to get vaccinated. Most respondents were aged between 18 and 30 years.
“Leaving the demography, we want to understand people’s perception of risk and their willingness to take the vaccine. This was very good information for us to know. And then we also looked at terms of how they would like to get the information and the place that they would like to get the information from. This basically, comprehensively, guides the Ministry of Health in terms of the planning process and it also provides some contextual information on being a new vaccine,” Lyonpo said.
Lyonpo added the health ministry started preparing for the vaccination program some seven months ago.
Tshering Zam/Pema Seldon Tshering/Yeshi Dorji
