Thanks to the American people’s generosity and in partnership with COVAX, 90,090 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been donated to Bhutan April 5, in coordination with the Bhutan Foundation and UNICEF, to fight the pandemic. These safe and effective vaccines will protect lives in Bhutan and help prevent dangerous new variants from spreading.

This donation builds on the 500,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the United States donated to Bhutan on July 12, 2021, and 5,850 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which were delivered on May 25, 2021, through COVAX.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director to India and Bhutan, Veena Reddy said, “The United States deeply values our relationship with the people of Bhutan. The vaccine doses delivered today will further safeguard the people of Bhutan from new variants and help to defeat the pandemic. 

“USAID and other U.S. government agencies have stood with Bhutan since the outset of the pandemic and continue to partner with Bhutan to strengthen its healthcare capacity, while also addressing the economic impacts of the pandemic. The United States is committed to leading the global COVID-19 response because it is the right thing to do and will make us all—Americans and Bhutanese alike—safer.”

USAID, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other U.S. government agencies have worked closely with Bhutan since the pandemic began, bolstering Bhutan’s pandemic preparedness. They have provided virtual training for healthcare workers, developed communications materials on COVID-19 prevention, readiness, and response, supported a post-introduction survey of COVID-19 vaccines, and helped businesses and entrepreneurs overcome the economic impacts of the pandemic. 

Notably, USAID’s COVID-19 related risk communication messaging has reached approximately 90 percent of Bhutan’s population. USAID’s support for livelihood interventions for Bhutanese who experienced economic hardship during the pandemic focused particularly on women and youth. U.S. government agencies have also provided personal protective equipment and medical supplies to Bhutan’s Ministry of Health.

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India