US delivers additional 50,000 doses of Pfizer COVID pediatric vaccine to Bhutan

The US government on Saturday donated to Bhutan an additional 50,000 doses of the Pfizer pediatric COVID vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, in partnership with COVAX and the Bhutan Foundation, according to a press release by the US Embassy in New Delhi.

The United States has as part of its commitment to defeating the COVID pandemic, donated over 671 million vaccine doses around the world.

The recent delivery marks the second shipment of U.S.-donated vaccines for children in Bhutan this year, bringing the total number of pediatric vaccine donations to 83,600 to date, enough to fully vaccinate half of all Bhutanese children aged 5 to 11, read the Embassy release.

The US government has in total provided 679,540 vaccine doses to Bhutan. Safe and effective distribution of these vaccines is ensured by encouraging people to get vaccinated, strengthening vaccine delivery and providing appropriate training to healthcare workers.

According to the Embassy release, Charge d'Affaires, Ambassador A. Elizabeth Jones while announcing the arrival of the vaccine shipment, said: "Expanding COVID vaccination to children can present countries with opportunities to reach higher-risk populations, increase community acceptance, and demonstrate the safety of COVID vaccines for all Bhutanese citizens. The pediatric vaccine doses delivered today will protect the lives of children in Bhutan and help prevent further outbreaks."

The U.S. government has through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), partnered with Bhutan to build the nation's resilience, strengthen its healthcare capacity, train its healthcare workers, and promote pandemic preparedness and response, while also supporting microenterprises and entrepreneurs to overcome the economic impacts of the pandemic, read the press release by the US Embassy in New Delhi.

The United States in August donated nine million pediatric and adult doses of COVID vaccines to Pakistan. "As part of the U.S. commitment to provide 77 million doses of US COVID vaccines to Pakistan, an additional nine million pediatric and adult doses from the United States, in partnership with COVAX, began arriving on August 26," the US Embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.

US Ambassador in Pakistan Donald Blome said: "The vaccines, supplies, and training we have provided to Pakistan, coupled with the expertise and dedication of Pakistan's healthcare professionals, will allow our two countries to continue working together to combat COVID and safeguard the health and safety of the Pakistani people," it said.

( With inputs from ANI )