WHO announces to provide Nepal with 2.256 million doses of Covishield vaccine

KATHMANDU: Nepal will receive 2.256 million doses of vaccine under the World Health Organization’s Covax facility by the end of this month. This is mentioned in a statement published by WHO.

Under the Covax Interim Distribution Scheme, Nepal will receive the Covishield vaccine jointly developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca and produced by the Serum Institute of India.

The announcement came a week after Nepal introduced the vaccine for emergency use. According to the WHO projection, Nepal will receive the vaccine by the end of February.

The Department of Medicine Management of Nepal has allowed only Covishield Vaccine for emergency use. The dose of the vaccine provided by the United Nations is said to reach 3.3 percent (10 million) of the total population of Nepal.

Nepal plans to vaccinate 72 percent of its total population. Only those over the age of 18 can receive the vaccine. As of Wednesday, 271,431 people have been infected by COVID in Nepal. The death toll has risen to 2,031.