World News | US donates 33,600 doses of pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan

Thimphu [Bhutan]July 10 (ANI): To curb the spread of COVID-19, the United States, in partnership with COVAX and the Bhutan Foundation, has provided Bhutan with 33,600 doses of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, an official statement said on Sunday.

The U.S. Embassy in India informed in a statement that the vaccine was indeed donated by the U.S. government as part of President Biden’s pledge to donate COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries around the world.

Also read | Former Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez has died at the age of 100.

The statement added that these safe and effective paediatric vaccine doses delivered today will protect the lives of Bhutanese children and help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The United States is committed to the global response to COVID-19 because it makes us all stronger and safer — Americans and Bhutanese alike,” said Vina Ray, USAID Mission Director for India and Bhutan Veena Reddy said.

Also read | Johannesburg shooting: South African police say 14 people have been killed and three seriously after a shooting at a bar in the town of Soweto.

She added: “USAID is proud to be working with the Royal Government of Bhutan and our partner Bhutan Foundation to deliver pediatric vaccine doses today and value our efforts to defeat and recover from COVID-19. continued cooperation.”

The latest announcement is in addition to the 595,940 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States to Bhutan last year.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has worked with Bhutan to build the country’s resilience and strengthen its healthcare capacity, the statement said, training healthcare workers. personnel to facilitate pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

It added that it also supports micro-businesses and entrepreneurs in overcoming the economic impact of the pandemic.

USAID’s COVID-19-related risk communication information reaches approximately 90% of Bhutan’s population, helping Bhutan maintain one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccination in the world.

Last July, the United States donated 5,00,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan. In addition, the United States has donated basic health equipment to Bhutan, including 110 oxygen cylinders, more than 17,000 N95 masks, medical machinery and vehicles, and 15 state-of-the-art ventilators for use in hospitals across the country.

The embassy’s statement said the United States has pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion doses of vaccine to 115 countries and has delivered more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

“With its $4 billion contribution, the United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global vaccine initiative COVAX,” it added.

The United States has no diplomatic relations with Bhutan, nor does it have a U.S. diplomatic presence in Bhutan. Consular affairs related to Bhutan, including assistance to U.S. citizens, are handled by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)