KATHMANDU, Mar 13: Minister for Health and Population (MoHP), Hridayesh Tripathi said that no commission will be provided while purchasing COVID-19 vaccines.

The remarks of Tripathi comes in the wake of reports that the Serum Institute of India-- the manufacturer of Covishield vaccines-- has asked for a commission amount when Nepal approached it to purchase additional 5,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Minister Tripathi said that the government will not give commission to anyone.

According to Minister Tripathi, Nepal had earlier purchased each dose of Covishield vaccine at the cost of US $ 4 dollars which can now cost up to 5 to 6 dollars. “We are involving the private sectors in vaccine procurement soon,” he added.

Private sectors can earn profit no more than 10 percent while procuring and distributing the vaccines.

Earlier, Nepal had received a grant of 1 million doses of Covishield vaccines and had launched the COVID-19 vaccination drive. Nepal then reached an agreement to purchase 2 million doses of the same vaccine. One million of the total 2 million doses procured earlier has already arrived in Nepal. 

Minister Triphati also maintained that Nepal will receive remaining doses of vaccine on time even if Serum Institute is reluctant in providing additional doses of the vaccines on time. “We are expecting the shipping of remaining doses within March 15,” he said.

Likewise, the Chinese government has also committed to provide 800,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Nepal. Minister Triphati vowed to administer shots of COVID-19 vaccines to every Nepali national within two years.

 
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