But those fears have proved unfounded in the Himalayan country of Bhutan, where an already impressive pandemic response has been followed by a speedy Covid jabs rollout.
Perhaps best known until now for pioneering the concept of the “national happiness index”, Bhutan is gaining renown among health experts for a world-leading inoculation campaign that has seen just under 500,000 coronavirus vaccine doses administered to the country’s 763,000-strong population, according to latest Oxford University tracking.
That equates to a vaccination rate of more than 62 doses per 100 people - the sixth highest in the world.
Bhutan was given 150,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by the Indian government in January, but rather than rushing ahead with the rollout, the leaders of the Buddhist nation “decided to consult the stars” in order to build public trust in the vaccines, ABC News reports.
Bhutan went from no jabs to being a world leader in COVID-19 vaccine rollout in three weeks Here s how they did it
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Bhutan/Südafrika - Aberglauben in der Pandemie: Manchen bringt er Segen, anderen den Tod
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Bhutan went from no jabs to being a world leader in COVID-19 vaccine rollout in three weeks. Here s how they did it
Posted 3
AprApril 2021 at 7:15pm
Bhutan is a devout Buddhist nation, prompting the government to coordinate its COVID-19 vaccine rollout around the most auspicious dates.
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When the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan was gifted 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in January, they decided to consult the stars before rolling them out.
Buddhist monks informed the government that the most auspicious time to begin the inoculation drive was late March, and a woman born in the Year of the Monkey was an ideal candidate.