Once ranked as the happiest country in Asia (2017), Bhutan is located in the Himalayas, between India and China, with a population of about 770,000 people. This East Asian country is located on rugged mountains with remote villages and extremely harsh weather, posing a huge challenge for medical staff to be able to bring Covid-19 vaccines to the people.
The rugged terrain is a big challenge for timely medical services to reach the people.
Rapid vaccination campaign
The rush to complete the second dose, which began on July 20, took months to prepare. To reach the country’s remotest areas, the national government had to use helicopters and thousands of volunteers to transport the vaccines over mountain slopes.
Bhutan received about 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India in March and April. However, when vaccine production in India was halted, Bhutan had to find new sources to complete its vaccination campaign.
Bhutan’s appeal was soon answered, with the country receiving 500,000 doses of Moderna from the US through the COVAX vaccine sharing program. Denmark donated 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca and China donated 50,000 doses of Sinopharm. An additional 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca from Croatia and Bulgaria were also promptly delivered to Bhutan.
Bhutan is fortunate to have received timely support from countries around the world for vaccine sources.
In Bhutan, all citizens over the age of 18 are eligible for the vaccine, with the choice of Moderna or AstraZeneca. Children aged 12-17 in two districts bordering India are also eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.
The government has also ordered 200,000 doses of Pfizer to complete nationwide vaccinations for children. The vaccines are expected to arrive by the end of this year.
Vaccine transportation is difficult
To ensure vaccines reach people in a timely manner, Bhutan has mobilized more than 2,400 health workers and 22,000 volunteers to reach the most remote areas of the country.
Volunteers receive vaccines from helicopters
Volunteers receive vaccines from helicopters, then travel along dangerous mountain roads to vaccination centers, while ensuring the vaccines are kept at the right temperature.
Air transport is also a challenge. The flight carrying half a million doses of Moderna was operated by an Indonesian crew from Kentucky (USA). However, Bhutan's Paro International Airport has a difficult terrain, making it one of the most inaccessible airports in the world. Only about 20 pilots are qualified to land there.
To date, 90% of adults in Bhutan have received two doses of vaccine.
As of July 27, about 480,000 people out of a total of 530,000 adults had been fully vaccinated, which UNICEF Bhutan representative Will Parks said could be the fastest vaccination campaign of the pandemic.
