KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has virtually launched the vaccination drive against COVID-19 on Wednesday morning.

Minister for Health and Population Hridayesh Tripathi and other ministers also attended the virtual launching of vaccination, shared Assistant Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari.

With the launching of the drive, the people enlisted would be administered with COVID-19 vaccines from 62 hospitals of all seven provinces, 17 hospitals of the capital and over 120 vaccine stations today.

Likewise, the COVID vaccines would gradually be administered through 300 vaccine stations of all 77 districts.

Nepali people are receiving the vaccines after a year since the first case of coronavirus infection in the country. Nepal had first spotted coronavirus infection on 23 January 2020.

As informed vaccine stations will be placed in 12 hospitals of Kathmandu, three of Lalitpur and two of Bhaktapur. It may be noted that vaccines have been made available in Nepal with Indian assistance.

The Ministry of Health has set a target to complete the vaccination campaign of the first phase within 10 days following its beginning. Vaccines would be administered to around 430,000 people in the first phase.

The Covishield vaccine was developed on the joint venture of the Oxford University and Extrogenica Drugs Producer Company.  India’s Serum Institute produced the vaccine in mass scale.

First priority would be given to waste collectors and drivers, ambulance/ moratorium van drivers and helpers, frontline health service providers and immunizers, security personnel and volunteers to be mobilized in vaccine stations, individuals deputed in dead body management, women health volunteers, health workers and other employees serving in the international entry points, elderly people in old-age homes and their caretakers and jailbirds and prison security personnel while administering vaccines.