Second phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive kicks off

KATHMANDU: The government will be administering Covishield vaccine against coronavirus in the second phase of the vaccination drive from Sunday.

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 staff of the diplomatic missions since February 8.

The government has a plan of vaccinating 72 percent of the total population. Among this population, the Ministry vaccinated only the persons under the first priority out of the three percent 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.