US delivers 680,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bhutan | World News

The United States, in partnership with the COVAX facility and the Bhutan Foundation, delivered more than 680,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bhutan, including 51,480 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in September.

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi, Patricia Lacina, visited Bhutan from September 26 to October 1 and met with the country’s Minister of Health, Dechen Wangmo, to discuss for bilateral cooperation on Covid-19 and congratulates her for her tireless efforts in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Thimphu.

Lacina also joined Agriculture and Forests Minister Yeshey Penjor at a ceremony commemorating the U.S.-Bhutan partnership in health and fighting the pandemic.

“Bhutan is a model for global health issues, a fact recognized around the world. When the Covid pandemic hit, the government implemented a detailed plan to protect the country’s frontline health workers and protect its citizens,” Lasina said.

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“The United States is proud to support Bhutan in this remarkable achievement through the vaccine and other assistance provided by the U.S. government and more than a decade of extensive health cooperation,” she said.

For more than a decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been working with the Royal Centers for Disease Control of Bhutan’s Ministry of Health to build capacity for influenza surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and influenza vaccine introduction, which is used in the Covid-19 response.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other U.S. agencies have worked closely with Bhutan to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response.

USAID is also supporting livelihood interventions for Bhutanese, focusing on women and youth experiencing economic hardship during the pandemic.

The United States has provided Bhutan with $9 million in foreign aid over the past 20 years. The U.S. government is working with Bhutan to prioritize Covid-19 relief and support for livelihoods, clean energy, disaster resilience, forestry management, biodiversity conservation and water security.