800,000 doses of vaccine provided by China arrives in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: The 800,000 doses of vaccine against COVID-19 provided by the Chinese government has arrived in Kathmandu on Monday morning.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi handed over the vaccine to Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi on a Nepal Airlines flight from Beijing.

It is said that it will take a few days to use the Varicella vaccine developed by Sinopharm. Although the government has allowed the emergency use of the vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not. The vaccine will be used only after the permission of the WHO.

At present, there are five and a half million vaccines left in Nepal. This vaccine will be used to give the second dose to those who have already received the first dose from 20th April.

It is said that it will take a few days to use the Varicella vaccine developed by Sinopharm. Although the government has allowed emergency use, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not. The vaccine will be used only after the permission of the WHO.

The vaccine provided by China will reach 400,000 people. The vaccine, produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech, can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, similar to the Covishield produced by Oxford AstraZeneca.

This vaccine should be given in two doses. It is stated that the first dose should be applied within 21 to 28 days after the first dose. In various tests, the Chinese vaccine has been shown to be more effective than Covishield. The vaccine is said to be more expensive than Covishield.