KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Thousands of Bhutanese traveled to schools and public buildings on Saturday to be vaccinated as the Himalayan kingdom launched its largest inoculation action against COVID-19 with AstraZeneca shots provided by the Himalayas. neighboring India.
Ninda Dema, a 30-year-old woman born in the year of the Monkey according to Buddhist astrology, became the first in the country to receive the shot at a vaccination center converted at the school in the capital Thimphu, an event which was televised live.
Ninda, a bureaucrat, folded the sleeve of her jacket and clapped her hands in a traditional gesture of greetings and prayers as she received the dose of a masked nurse amid the lighting of butter lamps and the singing of Buddhist prayers. The nurse was also born the same year as the Monkey.
The Buddhist years are named after twelve animals such as the goat, the rooster, the pig, and religious followers believe that people born in the year of the Monkey are inventive and can solve even the most difficult problems quite easily.
“May this little step of mine today help us prevent this disease at all,” Ninda said, according to the Kuensel newspaper, after being selected to make the first move.
Bhutan has been able to slow the spread of the virus with early detection and control at entry points, testing and border sealing.
According to government data, total infections are 870 with one death from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
In a week-long campaign, the predominantly Buddhist nation, located between China and India, expects to inoculate more than half a million people who have registered for vaccination.
A country of about 800,000 people, Bhutan, received 150,000 doses of the vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in January. But unlike neighboring Nepal, which has suspended the campaign due to lack of vaccines, Bhutanese authorities expected 400,000 more shots to be provided this month to start the campaign at once.
The scenic country, which is heavily dependent on high-end tourists, is famous for its “gross national happiness” index as an alternative to gross domestic product to indicate real economic progress or development.
Gopal Sharma Reports; Edited by Michael Perry