Employing medical anthropology approach as an additional public health strategy in promoting COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance in Bhutan

1 | MANUSCRIPT As of 1 May 2021, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has already reached 220 countries and territories around the world with a total of 150, 989, 419 cases.1 Among the affected countries, Bhutan, a landlocked Buddhist kingdom in South Asia, is one of the countries that successfully controlled COVID‐19 with only 1074 confirmed cases since their first recorded case on 5 March 2020.1,2 The total number of COVID‐19 cases in Bhutan only comprised 0.12% of the country's population, which is a definite evidence of their successful COVID‐ 19 response despite being bordered by India, one of the pandemic’s worst‐affected countries, and China, the country where the first case of COVID‐19 was initially detected. Bhutan was able to intervene quickly and decisively, putting in place fundamental public health programs in identifying, screening, tracing, isolating, and treating COVID‐19 cases. The country has also increased the capacity of medical personnel, healthcare facilities, and laboratories to ensure that critical healthcare services are delivered and provided even during lockdowns.3,4 More than a year after the first detected COVID‐19 case in Bhutan, the country has added another strategy in controlling the further spread of the contagious disease, which is vaccination. Although the country started late among other countries in the world, it turned out to be very successful as they have already inoculated 93% of its Int J Health Plann Mgmt. 2021;1–4.