Saturday, January 23, 2021

Government to dispatch ‘Covishield’ vaccines to all provinces

 The government is dispatching India-gifted ‘Covishield’ vaccines to all provinces from tomorrow.

“The ‘Covishield’ vaccine will be dispatched to all provinces from tomorrow,” confirmed Health Ministry. “A million doses of vaccine that is currently stored at the Central Vaccine Store in Teku in Kathmandu will reach all over the country within a few days,” it said, adding that the government has also appointed coordinators for each province to facilitate in dispatching the vaccines. “The government has appointed three members for each province to facilitate the dispatching procedure.”

The government has planned to inoculate 72 per cent of the country’s total population against Covid-19. 

Two doses of ‘Covishield’ vaccine should be given four to 12 weeks apart to develop immunity against Covid-19, the ministry added. “Once the vaccine reaches every province, the government will give approval to start the vaccination drive.”

India gifted a million doses of the ‘Covishield’ vaccine – manufactured by the Serum Institute of India – On Thursday. The vaccine is jointly developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company.

The drug regulator, on January 15, granted emergency approval for ‘Covishield’. The vaccine can be stored for six months at a temperature between two to eight degrees Celsius. 

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