Bhutan, a landlocked country that is slightly larger than Maryland and borders Tibet, has received lot of media coverage for successfully managing coronavirus pandemic.

“As of Monday, the country had recorded 921 cases and one death from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Health officials said there will be no changes to public health restrictions until at least two weeks after the country completes a rollout of second-dose vaccinations, in two to three months,” writes NPR News.

Vaccination Campaign

According to AP News, though Bhutan received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India in January, the country waited until the late March to coincide with auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology. Quoting Daily Bhutan, NPR News reports that the country also received second 400,000 doses from India again in March, totaling 550,000 doses.

According to AP News, Bhutan launched its vaccination campaign on March 27 coinciding with “auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology,” and by April 8, 93% of eligible adults had gotten their first dose, according to the Bhutan Ministry of Health.

According to a New York Times database, the vast majority of Bhutan’s first doses were administered at about 1,200 vaccination centers over a weeklong period in late March and early April. As of Saturday, the country’s vaccination rate of 63 doses per 100 people was the sixth highest in the world, writes the Times.

The Bhutans’s Health Minister Dasho Dechen Wangmo reportedly described their vaccination campaign as a “sense of purpose that each of us is embracing to protect our country and the people we love.”

“His Majesty the King has shared thoughts about taking the vaccine only after every eligible person in the country received their shots safely. All of us must come forward, so that we make way for His Majesty to receive the vaccine as soon as possible.”

Our greatest strength- Solidarity, Smallness and our collective sacred duty to King and the country. Together We can ! @WHOSEARO @YaleSPH @GaviSeth https://t.co/6dBpfizZZU

— Dechen Wangmo (@DechenwangmoM) April 11, 2021

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The Times writes: “That rate was ahead of those of the United Kingdom and the United States, more than seven times that of neighboring India and nearly six times the global average. Bhutan is also ahead of several other geographically isolated countries with small populations, including Iceland and the Maldives.”

Being a small country with a population of just over 750,000, a two-week vaccination campaign was doable. Minor logistic issues were faced during the vaccination but were all manageable.

Ms. Dechen Wangmo said in an email to The New York Times

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Bhutan reportedly distributed Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to remote areas like Lunana (even by the standards of Bhutan) by helicopters where health workers walked from village to village (mostly at nights for 8-10 hours) through snow and ice.

The vaccination campaign of the Lunana is part of a quiet vaccine success story in one of Asia’s poorest countries.

The New York Times

According to The Times, health care system in Bhutan is free. “Between 1960 and 2014, life expectancy there more than doubled, to 69.5 years, according to the World Health Organization. Immunization levels in recent years have been above 95 percent.”