US donates Pfizer pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan

In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, the United States delivered 33,600 doses of the Pfizer pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan, in partnership with COVAX and the Bhutan Foundation, an official statement said on Sunday.

In a statement, the US Embassy in India informed that the vaccine does were donated by the US government as part of President Biden's commitment to donate COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries around the world.

These safe and effective pediatric vaccine doses delivered today will protect the lives of children in Bhutan and help stop the spread of COVID-19, the statement added.

"The United States is committed to a global COVID-19 response because it makes us all stronger and safer--Americans and Bhutanese alike," said USAID's Mission Director to India and Bhutan, Veena Reddy.

"USAID is proud to work with the Royal Government of Bhutan and our partner, the Bhutan Foundation, to deliver the pediatric vaccine doses today and values our ongoing partnership to defeat and recover from COVID-19," she added.

The recent announcement is an addition to the 595,940 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the US donated to Bhutan in the last year.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has partnered with Bhutan to build the nation's resilience, strengthen its healthcare capacity, train healthcare workers, and promote pandemic prevention, readiness, and response, the statement said.

It has also supported microenterprises and entrepreneurs to overcome the economic impacts of the pandemic, it added.

USAID's COVID-19-related risk communication messaging has reached approximately 90 per cent of Bhutan's population, contributing to Bhutan maintaining one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world.

Last year, in July US gifted 5,00,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan. In addition, the United States also donated essential 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 which are in use at hospitals throughout the country.

The statement from the Embassy stated that the US has pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion vaccine doses to 115 countries and has already delivered over half a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

"With its contribution of USD 4 billion US dollars, the United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global vaccine initiative, COVAX," it added.

The US does not have diplomatic relations with Bhutan and there is no United States diplomatic presence there. Consular issues relating to Bhutan, including assistance to US citizens, are handled by the US Embassy in New Delhi.