Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has profusely thanked the Indian government and the people of the country for the donation of COVID-19 vaccine doses to help her nation fight the dreaded pandemic.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Mottley said: "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."

Ironically, the development comes at a time Barbados-born celebrity Rihanna has helped trigger a social media controversy against India over the ongoing farmers protests in the 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.

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, according to media reports.

The Barbados Prime Minister had last month written a letter to Prime Minister Modi, requesting for access to vaccines to provide immunisation coverage for the island nation.

Recently, Barbados media reported that the country will be receiving 1,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India.

Barbados, which as a population of over 2.87 lakhs, has recorded 1,641 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,274 persons have recovered.