Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for achieving one billion COVID-19 vaccination doses on Thursday morning.
"I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this achievement. My appreciation also goes to all the healthcare providers and people involved in making this possible, more specifically the 1,000 million people who came forward to take the jab. It reflects the trust people have in the system. I always believe that the collective, unconditional faith in leadership and the system is key to any nation's success," Prime Minister Office said in a Facebook post.
He also stated that Bhutan being a close neighbour to India, feel more secure.
"I have been closely following the spiralling numbers and this morning, in what is a huge accomplishment not just for your country but the world, India hits the one billion mark of COVID-19 vaccination doses this morning. On behalf of the people of Bhutan, I congratulate India! Narendra Modi PMO India.
"Being able to administer the shots in one billion arms, despite all the challenges, is a feat not many can easily achieve. At this time of the pandemic, any individual getting vaccinated is a progression that contributes to global herd immunity. This will be significant for all of us in emerging from the pandemic sooner. And on a practical note, being a close neighbour, we feel more secure," Prime Minister Tshering said in the post.
The Prime Minister further expressed his appreciation to PM Modi for contributing to global welfare through sharing of vaccines, medical supplies and other supports. "Bhutan has benefitted a lot and remains grateful," he added.
In a landmark achievement, India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 100 crore doses on Thursday.
A total of 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to eligible beneficiaries, as per the CoWIN portal at 9:47 am today.
India's COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only.
From February 2, front line workers were made eligible for vaccination. These included state and Central Police personnel, Armed Force Personnel, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Disaster Management Volunteers, Municipal workers, Prison Staff, PRI Staff and Revenue workers involved in containment and surveillance, Railway Protection Force and election Staff.
The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
( With inputs from ANI )
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