Thank You, India: Dominican PM Extends Gratitude For 70,000 Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine

Barely two weeks after Dominican Republic Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit wrote to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to facilitate supplies of COVID-19 vaccine, the Caribbean nation on Wednesday received 70,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that could cover half of its current population, which is just over 10 million.

Skeritt took to Twitter to express his gratitude. He wrote: "Even though I trust every word of the bible, I must confess that I did not imagine that the prayers of my country would have been answered so swiftly. Thank You, India."

Skitter's words have come as a shot in the arm for India's "Vaccine diplomacy."

"I must confess that I did not imagine that the prayers of my country would be answered so swiftly…. One would have thought and understood that in a global pandemic such as this, a nation's size and might would have been the primary considerations. But it is to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that our request was considered on merit and the equality of our people was recognized,” Skerrit said during a formal ceremony at Douglas Charles Airport after the plane with the vaccines arrived.

Skerrit and his cabinet colleagues even helped unload vaccine boxes from the plane.

In a letter to Modi on Jan. 19, PM Skerrit had requested India's assistance in his nation's fight against the pandemic by "donating the doses we need to make our population safe (optimally 70,000 first and second doses).”

While a lot of wealthy nations have been accused of hoarding vaccines, India is planning to gift half a million doses of vaccines each to all CARICOM countries as part of a unique diplomatic move dubbed 'Vaccine Maithri.'

This is besides the 0.2 million vials the country is supplying to Nicaragua and the Pacific Island states and 4.9 million to all neighboring countries, except China and Pakistan. Overall, as many as 17 nations have so far benefitted from the nation's vaccine diplomacy. India has also started dispatching vaccines to a few countries on a contractual basis.

According to analysts, the move is aimed at boosting New Delhi’s global profile and is "a pushback against China." India, known as the pharmacy to the world, is at the forefront to provide affordable shots against COVID-19 to developing countries.