Kathmandu, Jan 27: Nepal on Wednesday received 1.3 million COVID-19 vaccines from France and Italy.
Added to the 4.1 million vaccines sent by Germany, this brings the number of doses shared by EU member states to 5.4 million, half of the donated vaccines received in Nepal through the COVAX facility.
The French government provided 685,400 doses of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccine.
Another 663,600 doses of Vaxzevria have been donated by Italy, one of the first countries to support the creation of a multilateral mechanism to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and among the major contributors to the COVAX facility, with more than 385 million euro and 45 million doses of vaccines.
These donations are in addition to the medical equipment such as ventilators, masks, antigen test kits, spare parts for oxygen plants and the like donated by 14 EU Member States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism when the second COVID wave hit Nepal in 2021.
KATHMANDU, December 16: The government has begun administering additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to people older than 60 years old.
The National COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee has already recommended the government to administer the additional doses to elderly, according to Chairman of the committee, Dr Ramesh Kanta Adhikari.
Those elederly who had received two shots of Verocell vaccine will receive an additional dose to boost their immunity.
Likewise, the shots will also be administered to people with compromised immunity who have already received both shots of the vaccine, according to Sagar Dahal, chief of the Family Welfare Division.
“The government has already begun administering the additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines from some of the vaccination centers in the Kathmandu Valley,” Dahal added.
Similarly, the government has decided to inoculate the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to children aged between 12 to 17 from December 19 to 29. The vaccination will be administered in schools in 57 districts across the country.
Also, the government will soon begin administering booster doses of COVID-19 to the public once the 50 percent of total eligible population receives at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, 47 percent of the total eligible population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
To maintain vaccine equality, the World Health Organization has prohibited the inoculation of booster doses before administering COVID-19 vaccine to at least 50 percent of the total eligible population.
So far, Nepal has administered COVID-19 vaccine to as many as 20,995,536 people. Of them, 19,629,621 have received their first shots while 93,65,915 have received both shots, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
KATHMANDU, November 22: The government has started providing COVID-19 vaccine to all people above 18 years of age. Prior to this, the vaccination campaign was focused on the target groups, but now it is available for al.
Joint Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said the government has decided to provide vaccines to all above 18 as the supplies are regular.
He urged all the eligible people who were missed in the previous vaccination campaigns to visit the nearby vaccinations centers and get the shot. The government has a target of vaccinating one-third of the population by coming mid-January and 21.07 million by coming mid-April.
To date, 30 percent of the total population has been given the first dose of vaccine while the population receiving the full-course is 26 percent. Kathmandu District Health Office Chief Shambhu Kafley said the vaccine is available at five centers: Birendra Military Hospital, Nepal police Hospital, Shahid Memorial Hospital, Kalanki; Bayodha Hospital, Balkhu; at Lhotse Building in New Buspark, Gongabu; and the Herbs Processing Center, Jadibuti in Kathmandu. ---
KATHMANDU, November 14: The government is administering the Pfizer vaccines against COVID-19 in Nepal from Sunday.
The vaccine will be administered to people with chronic diseases and who are older than 12 years old.
According to Sagar Dahal, chief of the Immunization Section under the Department of Health Service, the Pfizer vaccine, received in a grant from the COVAX facility, will be administered to more than 50,000 people with chronic diseases.
Those receiving the first dose will be administered the second dose within 21 to 28 days of receiving their first dose.
Earlier, Nepal received 100,620 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX.
It has been made mandatory to possess a medical report of chronic disease issued by hospitals or medics to receive the vaccine.
The vaccination drive will be conducted in 24 vaccine centers including eight in Kathmandu Valley and 16 out of the valley.
Who can receive the vaccine?
1) Those who underwent heart surgery and heart patients
2) Kidney patients
3) Cancer patients
4) Lungs patients
5) Those who underwent any sort of organ transplant
6) High blood pressure and diabetes patients
7) Those with compromised immunity
8) Those suffering from brain diseases
Vaccine centers for Pfizer vaccination in Kathmandu Valley:
1) Bir Hospital
2) TU Teaching Hospital
3) Civil Hospital
4) Sahid Gangalal Hospital
5) Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital
6) Patan Hospital
7) Sahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center
8) Birendra Sainik Hospital
Vaccination centers outside of the valley
1) Mechi Hospital
2) BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences
3) Janakpur Hospital
4) BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital
5) Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences
6) Lumbini Provincial Hospital
7) Bheri Hospital
8) Koshi Hospital
9) Gajendra Narayan Singh Institute of Health Sciences
10) Dadeldhura Hospital
11) Rapti Institute of Health Sciences
12) Karnali Provincial Hospital
13) Seti Hospital
14) Dhulikhel Hospital
15) Dhaulagiri Hospital
16) Narayani Hospital
Possible side effects of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
- swelling, pain and redness in arm
- headache, fever and chills
- muscles and joints pain
-loss in appetite and nausea
- tiredness
These symptoms will last only for two to three days after receiving the vaccine, according to the health ministry.
To reduce pain and discomfort where the shot is given, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America recommends:
- Applying a clean, cool, wet washcloth over the area
- Using or exercising your arm
To reduce discomfort from fever
- Drinking plenty of fluids
- Dressing lightly
Japanese-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Kathmandu
KATHMANDU, Aug 7: The Japanese-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday.
Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, Kikuta Yutaka attended the hand-over ceremony at the Tribhuvan International Airport with State Minister of Health and Population Umesh Shrestha, Joint Secretary of North East Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lok Bahadur Thapa, Representative of UNICEF Nepal, Elke Wisch and WHO Representative to Nepal, Dr Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav.
This vaccine donation from Japan for Nepal through the COVAX facility was announced by Motegi Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on 13 July. Remaining half of 1.6 million doses pledged by Japan will be shipped to Kathmandu shortly,according to the Embassy of Japan in Nepal.
KATHMANDU, Aug 5: The AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Japan to Nepal is expected to arrive in Nepal on August 7 and 8.
Japan has pledged to donate 1.6 million doses of Japanese-made AstraZeneca vaccines to Nepal.
In the first phase, 800,000 doses will arrive on Saturday and Sunday while the remaining will be shipped to Kathmandu in due course of time, read a statement issued by the Embassy of Japan on Wednesday.
KATHMANDU, June 1: A consignment of 800,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, which were donated by China, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the vaccines and the similar number of syringes were airlifted from Beijing to Kathmandu by a chartered flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation which were received by the officials of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP). The remaining 200,000 doses of the vaccine, of the total of one million doses as announced by Chinese President Xi Jingping grant assistance on May 26, during a telephone conversation with his Nepali counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari, are being provided to Nepal by the Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, MoFA added.
Accordingly, 50,400 doses of the vaccine and syringes were handed over to the officials of the Health Ministry on Tuesday morning, Similarly, another batch of 50,400 vaccines and syringes is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on Tuesday evening. The consignment of remaining 99,200 vaccines and syringes will arrive in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
