Vaccination drive against COVID-19 to start tomorrow from 62 hospitals and 120 vaccination centers

In the first phase, each of the around 450,000 frontline workers will get two doses of ‘Covishield’ vaccines

KATHMANDU, Jan 26: The government is inoculating frontline workers fighting against COVID-19 from 62 hospitals and 120 vaccination centers across the country starting Wednesday morning.

The Ministry of Health and Population is all set to inoculate the frontline workers – health and sanitation workers – of all seven provinces starting tomorrow at 10AM, according to Dr Jhalak Gautam of the ministry.

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The government is starting the vaccination drive against COVID-19 after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli virtually inaugurates the campaign at 10AM tomorrow. In the first phase of the vaccination drive, the government is inoculating the ‘Covishield’ vaccine gifted by India  to around 450,000 frontline workers.

Last week, the Government of India gifted a million doses of the ‘Covishied’ vaccine to Nepal. The vaccine was jointly developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca – a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company. It has been branded as ‘Covishield’ in India, and is produced by the Serum Institute of India.

According to the ministry, the vaccine has already been dispatched to almost 70 districts as of Tuesday afternoon. “The vaccine is yet to reach some mountainous districts. By tomorrow afternoon, the vaccine will reach those districts too,” said Dr Tara Pokharel of the health ministry.

The government, on January 15, granted emergency approval for ‘Covishield’. The vaccine can be stored for six months at a temperature between two to eight degrees Celsius.

The government has planned to vaccinate 72 percent of the country’s total population against COVID-19. Almost 28 per cent of the country’s population is below the age of 15 years, and does not need to be vaccinated, according to the ministry.

Likewise, the government has also sent vaccination cards to all provinces. “Some districts are yet to receive these cards, so the names of those receiving the vaccine shots will be registered at the vaccination centers. They will get vaccination cards after some time,” said Pokharel.