Nepal to administer second dose of Covid-19 vaccine from April 20

Nepal will administer the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from April 20 to April 28 to those who have received the first shot of the vaccine from January 27 and February 12.

"The second dose of coronavirus vaccine for those who had received the first shot of ''Covishield'' between January 27 and February 12 will be administered from April 20 to April 28," The Himalayan Times reported citing Samir Kumar Adhikari, assistant spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population.

The first dose of the Covishield vaccine was given to health professionals, security personnel, officials of diplomatic missions, embassies, and those working in the United Nations.

On March 3, members of Nepal Parliament were administered the first jab of India-made COVID-19 vaccine at Minbhawan based Civil Hospital in Kathmandu.

According to the health ministry, 429,705 persons have received the first dose of the vaccine, which is 1.4 per cent of the total population.

Nepal last month received the second shipment of one million doses of the coronavirus vaccines from India.

Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

The second lot of vaccines would be used to inoculate people above 60 years of age, which is 8.73 per cent of Nepal's population in the vaccination drive that will begin on March 7.

Nepal began its nationwide inoculation drive after receiving the first one million Covishield vaccines following the emergency use approval in January.

India, under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, has been providing coronavirus vaccines to neighbouring countries.