The government remains positive to administer the second dose of the COVID vaccine to the country’s entire eligible population within the stipulated time frame. The foreign minister said that the government is hopeful of receiving the vaccines for the second dose from India. Lyonpo said the foreign secretary and the ambassador of Bhutan to India are in constant touch with the Indian counterparts.
The second dose of the COVID vaccine is due towards the end of May following the nationwide vaccination programme on 27th March.
“We have been in touch with the Indian government. A week ago, we spoke with the embassy, foreign officials there, and they agreed to support us. Even though they are facing serious COVID issues, we believe they will help us because if the second dose is not inoculated then it’s of no use to take the first jab. But we are not sure whether they will give us all the vaccines at once or batch-wise. We still have a one and a half month for the second dose,” said Dr Tandi Dorji, the Foreign Minister.
Meanwhile, Lyonpo said the country will receive 108,000 doses of the COVID vaccine from the COVAX facility. Earlier, the vaccine from the facility was on halt as the country did not sign a document about dealing with liability or the responsibility for adverse consequences of administering the vaccines.
“We have already done all the paper works. I got the papers early this morning and they agreed to give 108,000 vaccines and also 5,000 Pfizers will soon be in the country. After the first inoculation of the COVID vaccine, we still have 50,000 doses left. So it’s for sure that we will soon have 150,000 vaccines in the country and the rest I believe the Indian government will give us. But we are also trying other possible ways to get the vaccine. We have requested other countries as well but we didn’t get any confirmation yet,” Lyonpo added.
Health Minister Dechen Wangmo said the health ministry met with the UNICEF and the World Health Organisation to discuss about the COVID vaccine for the country. Lyonpo said the country will receive the Pfizer vaccine soon as all paperwork about the shipment protocols has been completed and sent to them.
Phub Gyem
