Government to administer vaccine against COVID-19 to second priority persons from Feb 14

KATHMANDU: The government is to administer Covishield vaccine against coronavirus to the second priority persons of the first phase from February 14.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, Prof Dr Jageshwor Gautam, said that second priority persons would be vaccinated from February 14-20. The vaccine would be administered to such persons from the districts.

Around 300,000 second priority persons would be immunized, he added. The vaccine would be administered from hospitals and health institutions.

District-based all government employees, employees of public corporations, banks and financial institutions, district-based journalists, people’s representatives, staffs of local levels, security personnel deputed at border security posts would be vaccinated.

Although there was a plan to inoculate 430 thousand people included in first priority under the first phase vaccination, 184 thousand took the jab.

The vaccines that remained after the first phase inoculation have been administered to the journalists and the officials and staffs of the diplomatic missions since February 8. The vaccines would be administered to them until Friday.

The government has the plan of vaccinating 72 per cent of the total population. Among this population, the Ministry vaccinated only the persons under the first priority out of the three per cent of the total population from January 27 to February 6.

The Government of India had provided one million vaccines to Nepal under grant assistance. Similarly, the Government of China is also providing 500 thousand doses of vaccines against COVID-19.