Kathmandu: A total of 1.6 million doses of Moderna vaccine have arrived in Kathmandu on Monday evening.
The vaccine is part of the four million doses of Moderna vaccine financed by the World Bank. The remaining doses will be delivered shortly, according to the World Bank.
The government plans to inoculate children aged 12-17 with the vaccine.
“Nepal was the second country globally to finalize procurement of vaccines through the COVAX cost-share scheme. The supply of Moderna vaccines is timely for Nepal, as we expand our vaccine coverage to adolescents 12-17 years,” said Minister for Health Birodh Khatiwada.
According to the World Bank, it has also approved the second round of additional financing of USD 18 million, bringing its cumulative Covid-19 health response financing to USD 122 million to support Nepal.
“The government is committed to vaccinating the entire eligible population by mid-April 2022, and the World Bank-financed Moderna vaccines will be instrumental in helping Nepal achieve its Covid-19 vaccination goal,” the World Bank quoted Minister Khatiwada as saying.
According to the World Bank, it has also approved the second round of additional financing of USD 18 million, bringing its cumulative Covid-19 health response financing to USD 122 million to support Nepal.
“I am very pleased that the World Bank has been able to help make safe and effective vaccines available for Nepal’s adolescent and youth populations. This is critical since Nepal’s children have already missed almost two years of in-person schooling because of the pandemic,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “I am hopeful that these vaccines will help increase the health and protection of children in classrooms and support continued learning to make up for the learning lost due to Covid-19.”
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