KATHMANDU: As many as 4.65 million of Nepal’s population received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines including Vero Cell and Johnson & Johnson, the Ministry of Health and Population has said.

Meanwhile, a total of 3.22 million people have been fully vaccinated people, it said.

Around 1.45 million people above 65 years of age had got the first jab of Covishield in between March 7 to 23 and they were recently given the AstraZeneca vaccine as the second dose.

Covishield and AstraZeneca are developed on the same formula with just different brand names, according to Ministry’s joint-spokesperson Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari.

The inoculation of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in a long interval of the first dose would still be effective, according to him.

Dr Adhikari said there should be a gap of two-three months between the two doses of Covishield or Astra Zeneca vaccines, senior citizens were given the second dose after five months.

According to research, the first dose would continue to work and the second shot in a long interval would still turn effective.

He also urged people concerned not to have any doubt over getting the AstraZeneca as the substitute of the second dose for Covishield even in the gap of five months.

Bhutan and Japan had recently gifted 230 thousand and 513 thousand doses of Astra Zeneca respectively to Nepal.