Nepal received one million Covid19 vaccines from India manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). The Covishield doses arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Sunday. The vaccines will be stored in the Teku cold store, The Himalayan Times reported. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that “Nepal is getting Indian vaccines. Putting neighbours first, putting people first!”
On Wednesday Tripathi thanked the Indian government for helping the people of the Himalayas and said: “The Indian government has provided one million doses of COVID19 vaccine as a grant.” This quantity of vaccine would be used to vaccinate people over 60 years of age, 8.73% of the Nepalese population, as part of the vaccination campaign, which will begin on March 7.
After receiving the vaccines, Hridayesh Tripathi, Minister of Health and Population of Nepal, announced that more doses will be obtained from India. “Nepalese citizens are receiving Covid vaccines for free. We will bring more doses to buy in India,” he said.
In early January, India sent 1 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to Nepal after Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali flew to India to officially request the vaccine. This gift would likely help mend the strained relations between the two neighbours. Relations between India and Nepal were strained by a territorial dispute that led to an exchange of powerful statements by both parties.
Covaxin, a vaccine manufactured in India, has been approved for use in Guyana
In addition to the 2 million doses of Covishield purchased in India, Nepal had previously purchased 10 million doses of the Vero Cell vaccine with the Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinopharm under a confidentiality agreement. The government has also purchased more than 9.9 million doses of the Covid19 vaccine from China and the United States through the COVAX facility’s cost-sharing program.
