Nepal receiving Covid-19 vaccines from the US, the number not known yet

KATHMANDU : The United States government has announced that it is donating some Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal among other countries battling with the pandemic. The exact number of vaccines that Nepal is receiving, however, is not known yet.

Earlier, President Joe Biden had announced that his government was distributing 60 million, and then again 20 million doses of vaccines across the world. Accordingly, the White House on Thursday announced a plan to distribute the first 25 million doses that would be distributed in June itself.

These vaccines would be distributed through the World Health Organization’s Covax programme.

Of those 25 million, Asian countries including Nepal would get approximately seven million vaccines in Nepal, according to the plan. Other countries in Asia receiving aid include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands.

Following the Biden administration’s announcement to distribute the vaccines, Nepal had expedited diplomatic efforts to grab some for Nepal also. President Bidya Devi Bhandari had also written a letter to Biden requesting the vaccines.