Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Indian government donation of Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield vaccine to the Caribbean country. This comes just after Barbadian singer Rihanna's tweet on farmers' protest sparked a controversy that enraged the Netizens to respond in harsh and negative tweets. While a debate is ongoing on social media with some justifying her tweet and some pointing out mistakes in her tweet.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Mottley said: "I trust that you are well and safe. On behalf of my Government and people, I wish to express gratitude to you, your Government, and the people of the Republic of India for its most generous donation of the Covishield vaccines (under the auspices of Oxford Astrazeneca)."
As soon as the news about India donating vaccines to Barbados broke Netizens began asking Rihanna to take note of India's generosity:
Earlier, Barbados PM wrote to PM Modi requesting access to vaccines to provide inoculation to the citizens of her country.
Mottley said that the country's health ministry has confirmed that the Covishield vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines.
"The Minister of Health and Wellness and the Chief Medical Officer both have confirmed that the vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," the letter read.
According to a local media report, "The first supply of 50,000 vaccines, comprising 100,000 doses, from India will be targeted towards frontline workers, police and security forces, essential services, hotel workers, supermarket employees as well as the elderly."