Situated between India and China, the tiny country of Bhutan has vaccinated 93% of its adult population in just over two weeks.
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While adults in the U.S. continue to line up for vaccinations, one country in Asia has seemingly been ahead of the curve and vaccinated nearly its entire adult population, according to the AP.
In just 16 days, the small Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, which is situated in the eastern Himalayas and bordered by both China and India, has vaccinated 93% of its adults. The country began the effort on March 27, and as AP notes, “Its small population helped Bhutan move fast, but its success has also been attributed to its dedicated citizen volunteers, known as ‘desuups,’ and established cold chain storage used during earlier vaccination drives.”
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Bhutan received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India but reportedly waited until late March to distribute them. The country reportedly did so to align with certain auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology.
Since the pandemic began, Bhutan has recorded 910 coronavirus infections and one death. So far, approximately 62% of the country’s 800,000 residents overall have been vaccinated. Only the tiny nation of Seychelles has vaccinated a higher percentage of its residents. The East African archipelago of 115 islands has, as of this writing, vaccinated 66% of its population.