Kathmandu: Shipping 1.5 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines donated by the United States arrived on Monday in Nepal, who struggled to invest in the population against the Coronavirus.
“Today’s single dose vaccine delivery means that this single donation is enough to protect more than 1.5 million people in Nepal,” US Ambassador, Randy Berry, said at Kathmandu Airport.
The US also contributed vaccines to several other Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Minister of Health, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, said shipping, obtained through Covax vaccine facilities that were not supported, would be given to people between the age of 50 and 54.
Although located between India and China, which is one of the largest vaccine manufacturers, Nepal has struggled for Get a dose.
It started the vaccination campaign in January, but less than 3% of the population had been fully inoculated.
The campaign stopped after India was hit by a destructive Coronavirus outbreak and cut the Indian-made vaccine exports, including 1 million doses that had been paid by Nepal.
Since then, China has contributed 1.8 million doses of synopharm vaccines and sells Nepal for around 4 million more doses this month.
Nepal faced its own Coronavirus outbreak in April which encouraged the authorities to impose a two-month lock.
It dropped the number of cases, but the easing of restrictions now raised concerns about new outbreaks with so few people who were vaccinated.
Thousands of people also cross the border with India every day without a health check to find work there or go home.
There is an official checkpoint on the main route on the border of 1,800 kilometers (1,125 miles), but it is easy to walk in most portions that are not guarded.
“We are very likely to be hit by the third wave of Covid-19 because we have a very porous border and only a small number of people who receive vaccines,” said Dr.
Rajan Pandey from Bheri Hospital in the border city of Nepalgunj.
, 360 kilometers (225 miles) southwest of the capital, Kathmandu.
In May, the city was the first in Nepal to hit new outbreaks and hospitals overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases.
Patients march outside the door and many are played or treated in an ambulance or in the corridor.
Even doctors and nurses fell ill.
US doses arrive as Nepal’s struggle to vaccinate the population
