Bhutan is all set to begin the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination tomorrow. The quota of the vaccine for respective districts has been safely delivered and stored in health facilities across the country. Bhutan received 550,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine from India for the first dose.
According to the Health Minister, the doses of Covishield were distributed across the country with strict monitoring. The doses were directly shifted from the airport to the central warehouse which is next to the national referral hospital in Thimphu and was stored in walk-in coolers. According to the manufacturer of the Covishield vaccine, the Serum Institute of India, the vaccine should be stored at temperatures ranging from two to eight degree celsius.
From the warehouse, the vaccine was airlifted to the eastern districts and transported through refrigated vans to the rest of the districts.
“All our BHU’s have refrigerators. Bigger warehouse even have back-up generator, so that we don’t compromise on the cold chain. Management of the cold chain system is one of the critical components of quality assurance so that’s why all our health facilities have refrigerators. The second aspect of quality assurance is also monitoring, whether the Ministry of Health is managing this cold chain properly or not and that is done by the Drug Regulatory Authority. As we repack and dispatch, DRA officers are also there observing how we are doing to ensure that the quality is not compromised,” said DechenWangmo, the Health Minister.
To monitor the vaccination drive and as a quick response to any emergency situations, 45 medical specialists have been deployed across the country. Similarly, 1,001 vaccination sites have been identified.
A 30-year-old woman born in the Monkey year will be the country’s first person to receive the jab. Her vaccination site is at Lungtenzampa Middle Secondary School in Thimphu. After the woman, the Prime Minister, Dr Lotay Tshering, will receive the vaccine followed by his family member and a few cabinet ministers.
The Health Ministry expects to vaccinate the entire eligible population of over 530,000. And as of 5 pm today, 512,905 individuals have registered for the vaccine.
As per the ministry, the second dose of the vaccine will be given after eight to 12 weeks.
Kelzang Choden
