As of today, mobile vaccination teams in Thimphu gave boosters to nearly 6,000 people who are 18 years and above. According to the health ministry, other districts will also continue to vaccinate until all eligible population is vaccinated. There are more than 530,000 people in this age group in the country. And 90 per cent of them have received booster doses.
There are nine mobile vaccination teams in Thimphu. With help from DeSuups, they have been visiting people to give booster doses since Tuesday. This will continue until new announcements to avoid crowding and virus spread. The movement restrictions have been in place in Thimphu for ten days now.
Bhutan started giving COVID-19 booster shots in December last year for priority groups. Senior citizens, outbound travellers, health workers, all persons with chronic medical conditions and all adults residing in the high-risk areas received boosters. Bhutan became the first country in the South Asian region to administer booster doses.
The booster dose is to boost the antibody level and improve protection against the virus. The antibody level and the effect of the vaccine wanes after about six months.
Sonam Tenzin
