Relief for Bhutan as E.U. likely to offer vaccines
The Hindu
Prescribed gap between the first and second doses at 16 weeks runs out in mid-July
Days ahead of a deadline to complete Bhutan’s COVID-vaccination programme, the European Union has stepped in to help supply the much-needed half a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, officials confirmed to The Hindu. The vaccines will allow Bhutan to complete its second round of inoculation after India, which had provided enough vaccines for the first round, failed to export the next batch due to the pandemic surge in April, when its Vaccine Maitri programme was suspended. “The E.U. and its Member States are actively pursuing concrete options through the EU Civil protection mechanism [for Bhutan]; decisions will be taken in the coming days,” a E.U. official said on Wednesday. It is understood that the E.U. has agreed to coordinate supplies from its member countries and is now helping negotiate the paperwork with AstraZeneca to allow those countries to re-export their surplus stocks of AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria to Bhutan. The E.U. is also coordinating the logistics including air transportation and cold-chain requirements for the early transfer of doses.More Related News