KATHMANDU, June 3: The Ministry of Health and Population has announced that the supply of vaccines from China under the procurement process will start from July 8. A press release from the ministry on Friday said that the first tranche of vaccines will be delivered within a week.
A month ago, China had announced to provide 5 million doses of vaccines to Nepal following a joint initiative from the President’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Earlier, China had provided 1.8 million doses of vaccines to Nepal under grants.
China to provide additional 6 million doses of COVID vaccine
The vaccines will be supplied after the agreement between Nepal and China's Sinopharm company. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the cost of a single dose of vaccine ranges from 10 to 14 American dollars. As stated by the ministry, as many as 2 to 3 million doses of vaccine are expected to arrive in the round of the delivery.
As stated by the vaccination branch of the Family Welfare Division, the vaccination campaign will start as soon as the vaccines arrive. According to the Health Ministry, the vaccination campaign will be expanded after the delivery of additional vaccines from the Gavi-COVAX facility.
In Nepal, as many as 2,574,715 people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 757,380 have already been administered with their second dose as well.
So far, Nepal has received 4,248,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from its neighboring countries. The Ministry of Health and Population has decided to take continuous initiatives with countries and manufacturing companies, producing vaccines to make them available for every Nepali.
