Final consignment of AstraZeneca gifted by Japan arrives

Nepal today received some 559, 360 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine -- the final consignment promised -- from Japan.

Officials handed over the last batch of the total 1.6 million doses Japan had pledged to Nepal through Covax, according to a press note issued by the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu.

"Nepal received the final consignment of vaccines from Japan today,” confirmed Department of Health Services.

Japan gifted a total of 1,055,380 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Japan under the United Nations-backed international vaccine-sharing scheme. "On August 7 and 8, Nepal received some 513,420 doses and some 333,900 doses," the press note reads, adding that Japan also provided some 208,060 doses on August 21.

Japan in July had announced that it would provide some 1,614,740 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through Covax.

The vaccine will be used to give second doses to those who had taken their first doses of Covishield, the AstraZeneca type of vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, in the second week of March.

Around 1.4 million people -- aged 65 and above -- who had taken first doses of Covishield between March 7 and 15, were deprived of their second doses as Nepal had failed to secure additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.

After Bhutan supplied 230,000 doses and Japan supplied the first consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine, the government started giving second doses from August 9 to those who took their first doses in March.

Nepal has used AstraZeneca vaccine -- manufactured in India, Japan, and Europe -- Vero Cell -- developed by China’s Sinopharm -- and Janssen by Johnson and Johnson of the US to inoculate against the coronavirus. "Nepal has received some 13,227,590 doses of vaccine till date," according to the Health Ministry. "Of the total, some 7.4 million doses of Vero Cell -- 5.6 million doses bought and 1.8 million doses provided under grants -- have arrived in Nepal."

In July, the US provided some 1,534,850 doses of single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccin through the Covax facility. "Covax itself had supplied some 348,000 doses of Covishield in March.

Earlier, India had also provided 1.1 million Covishield vaccine under grant assistance and Nepal had purchased 1 million doses from the Serum Institute of India but the Supreme Court in India baned export of vaccine.

Likewise, Bhutan has also provided some 230,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. "Of the 6 million doses of Vero Cell purchases by Nepal, only 1.6 million doses have been delivered," the ministry informed, adding that China has also pledged to provide an additional 1.6 million doses of Vero Cell under grant assistance.

Meanwhile, the government has already paid for 4 million doses of the Moderna vaccine through the World Bank to the US manufacturer of the vaccine, which will be delivered by mid-February. "By the mid-February Nepal will receive some 11 million doses from Covax under a cost-sharing mechanism, which means the government will pay the vaccine-sharing scheme the amount equivalent to what the facility paid to the manufacturing company," according to the health ministry notice.

"Some 4,942,250 Nepalis (16.47 per cent) have taken their first dose of vaccine and some 3,846,736 Nepalis ( 12.82 per cent) have been fully immunised by yesterday," the ministry confirmed.