The Himalayan country of Bhutan, with a population of about 800,000, has fully vaccinated 90% of its eligible citizens against COVID-19, according to UNICEF.
More than 2,400 health workers fanned out from July 20 to July 26 to administer second doses, said a release Tuesday from the U.N. Children’s Fund.
“The Royal Government of Bhutan made exhaustive efforts to reach all target groups,” according to UNICEF. “Health workers organized vaccinations at community centers but also conducted home-visits to vaccinate the elderly and people with disabilities and trekked to higher altitudes to reach the nomadic herders.”
The agency said children between ages 12 and 17 in high-risk areas were also vaccinated.
Bhutan gave most residents their first doses of vaccine in March and April.
Two weeks ago, the country received 500,000 U.S.-donated vaccine doses through COVAX, a World Health Organization effort to distribute vaccine to poor countries. Other vaccine doses came from China, Denmark, India, Bulgaria and Croatia.
The small country now has one of world’s highest percentages of people vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The success is mainly due to the efforts that went into securing the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines and extensive preparations for the roll out of the vaccines using all forms of resources available in the country, including training health workers, and making people aware about the campaign in advance,” UNICEF said.
Bhutan Fully Vaccinates 90% of Eligible Population Against COVID: UNICEF
- By VOA News
