Barbados: Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley has written a letter to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi seeking access for 2,00,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine for as the island country is very much in demand to vaccines to provide required immunization coverage for a large segment of the population of 2,87,000, the PM wrote.
“I am urgently soliciting the assistance of your Government to have access to 200,000 doses (for 100,000 citizens) of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being made in your country. We would appreciate your kind consideration of half of the supply and, if required, we would be willing to purchase the other 100,000 doses should it meet your favorable consideration,” PM Motely wrote in her letter, adding that the situation in her country has been especially challenging as it has been affected by two waves of the virus.
PM Motley also stressed how India and Barbados have enjoyed a long history of good relations. She also said that Barbados’ economy is hugely dependent on travel and tourism, and the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a fall of 90 percent in tourists’ arrival in 2020. This caused a significant fall in government revenue and economic activity, she wrote.
According to the letter, all medical and national security installations of Barbados have been heavily strained by the pandemic. “Persons who are on the front-line of our response to COVID-19 across the medical, protective services, and border agencies will need to get immediate access to vaccines. Similarly, we need it for other critical people on the frontline,” she wrote.
Earlier , Dominica also demands a vaccine from India; the Prime Minister of Dominica wrote a letter to India for the 70,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Under the Vaccine Maitri commitment, India has already been shipping consignments of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in India – Covishield, and Covaxin by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech – to its neighbors. Countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh and friendly nations such as Maldives, Seychelles, Brazil, and Morocco have already received the first shipments.
