W
HEN INDIA presented Bhutan with a generous gift of covid-19 vaccines in January, the neighbouring kingdom made an unusual choice. Rather than rush to inoculate all 800,000 of its citizens, the government sought advice from the Zhung Dratshang, a body of Buddhist monks. The stars were not auspicious, they ruled. Better to wait two months, and then to make sure that the first dose be both administered by, and given to, a woman born in the Year of the Monkey.
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So Bhutan waited until March 27th before Tshering Zangmo administered the first jab to Ninda Dema. The injection took place at a school in the capital, Thimphu, at the auspicious hour of 9.30am, after prayers were chanted and butter lamps lit. But then there was no dallying. Within a single week a world-beating 85% of Bhutan’s adult population had received a first shot. Only two countries, Israel and the Seychelles, have vaccinated a (slightly) higher propor
Bhutan, with only 37 doctors, vaccinates 470,000 people in 9 days
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Bhutan vaccinated almost all its adults against covid-19 in a week
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La sorprendente vacunación en el país más feliz del mundo
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This small country could vaccinate its entire adult population in a few days
Bhutan waited to have all the vaccines to start vaccinating its citizens.
Bhutan’s Capital, Thimphu. Image credit: Flickr / Antonio Morales García
This small country in the Eastern Himalayas bordered by China and India occupies an area of 38,394 squared kilometers, making it a bit smaller than Switzerland. It has a multiethnic population of 760,000 inhabitants. While it has had a hereditary monarchy since 1907, the country became a parliamentary democracy in 2008.
Bhutan has already vaccinated 466,811 people in the last nine days, which is 85% of the eligible population and 62% of Bhutan’s total population. The second dose of the vaccination program is already scheduled eight to 12 weeks from now – depending on the arrival of more vaccines from India over the next few months.