Drone delivers vaccine in Manipur, India first nation in Southeast Asia to do so

A drone delivered Covid-19 vaccines to people living in Manipur's 'floating islands' in Loktak Lake, following which India became the first nation in Southeast Asia to send vaccines in an unmanned aerial craft.

The country's top medical body ICMR successfully delivered the jabs from Manipur's Bhishnupur via Loktak Lake to the Karang Island.

Officials plan to deliver vaccines to two more districts of Manipur with drones in the coming days.

Manipur's Karang area, inhabited by about 3,500 people, has fully vaccinated 30% of its population.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted to write that the drone covered a distance of 31 km in just 15 minutes. By road, this journey is almost four hours long. Mandaviya further wrote that the drone technology will speed up the last mile deliveries of healthcare supplies and expand the supply scope of life-saving & emergency medicines