Supreme Court orders to administer second dose of Covishield to 1.3 million citizens immediately

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court issued an order in the name of the government to immediately vaccinate citizens in the age group of 65 years and above against COVID-19 on Tuesday.

A bench of Justice Ishwar Khatiwada passed the order. The court ruled that the second dose of vaccination for senior citizens who had taken the first dose of Covishield last year has been delayed. The court has asked to administer vaccines as soon as possible. 

Experts say that the vaccine can be given for 8 to 12 weeks after the first dose. In Nepal, more than 1.3 million people over the age of 65 have been vaccinated with the first dose. 

Arjun Raj Giri had filed a writ petition at the Apex Court demanding a second dose of vaccine. Hearing the writ petition, the Apex Court has issued an order to show the cause. According to advocate Kirtinath Sharma, who debated on the case, the Supreme Court has issued an interim order in the name of the government to provide the vaccine immediately.

The Indian company Serum Institute has not been able to provide AstraZeneca vaccine to Nepal even after taking advance payment. The company is yet to provide one million AstraZeneca vaccines. The vaccine that should have come through Covax has not arrived on time.