After Bhutan, India is sending as many as 10 lakh dosages of Serum Institute of India’s consignment of COVID-19 vaccines to Kathmandu and 20 lakh dosages to Dhaka on Thursday.
The consignment arrived at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the wee hours of Thursday.
With a population of nearly 30 million, the Government of Nepal plans to inoculate 72 per cent of its citizens. Nepal has announced that legal and financial preparations for rolling out of vaccine have been completed and everything is on set with vaccination drive soon to start in the Himalayan Nation.
Apart from the latest round of vaccines to Nepal, India earlier had provided Nepal with medical equipment, medicines and other logistical support to fight the pandemic.
On January 8, Bangladesh had approved the procurement of 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ from India.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had announced a vaccine rollout for Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from Wednesday which comes in line with its Neighbourhood First Policy.
India had earlier supplied hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and paracetamol tablets, as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies to a large number of countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, India sent the first consignment of 1.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ to Thimphu, Bhutan from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai. Bhutan is the first country to receive India’s gift of the coronavirus vaccines that have been manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Another country to receive Covishield dosages from India was Maldives, when the consignment of vaccines was handed over to Maldives Government by Indian High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir in a special ceremony held at Male’ airport. Present on the occasion were Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Health Minister Ahmed Naseem.
Source: dnaindia.com