Nepal launched the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on Wednesday (January 27). The commencement of the inoculation drive has brought a lot of cheers and enthusiasm to all Nepalis, who were eagerly waiting for a vaccine against the coronavirus pandemic. There is no doubt that this global public health crisis has dealt a severe blow on every sector throughout the world since its outbreak more than one year ago. As Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli formally inaugurated the vaccination campaign through a virtual medium on Wednesday, jabs were administered to all the prioritised frontline workers from 62 hospitals of all seven provinces, 17 hospitals of the Kathmandu Valley and 120 vaccination centres. All those hospitals got connected virtually with the vaccination campaign inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Dr. Sagar Rajbhandari, director of the Teku-based Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, was the first person to receive the vaccine. A couple of days back, India had made available one million doses of Covishield vaccine to Nepal under a grant assistance.

That the government aims to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines to all Nepalis free of cost within three months shows its firm commitment to freeing people and the country from this lethal virus disease shortly. Inaugurating the vaccination drive, the Prime Minister said: “No one will be deprived of the crucial shots. It will be administered free of cost. Necessary budget to purchase the vaccines has already been arranged.” The assurance made by the Prime Minister has instilled much hope and confidence in people. Dr. Bhandari and many other public health experts have called on all to get vaccinated against the deadly virus as it is fully safe. There were rumours that the vaccine had some adverse side effects. There is little doubt about its effectiveness as the vaccine has been tested and approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The vaccine is expected to help people fight the virus disease as it boosts their immunity.

The government is in the process of purchasing additional coronavirus vaccines from India and some other countries. For this, it has been coordinating with various nations and international donors to bring in the required number of doses at the earliest. The WHO and other international agencies are also going to help the developing nations like Nepal by making the shots available. They are working to ensure globally equitable access to vaccines as no one can win the battle against the global pandemic until everyone wins. As part of its preparations for the vaccination drive, the government recently decided to establish eight COVID-19 vaccine storage centres, one in seven provinces each and one in the Kathmandu Valley.

In her message delivered on the launching of the historic vaccination campaign, President Bidya Devi Bhandari has expressed her gratitude to doctors, nurses, other health workers, sanitation workers and security personnel for serving people and the nation by remaining in the frontline in the drive against COVID-19. Their contribution in the fight against the contagion has been very commendable as they have saved many lives by working round the clock. As of now, the coronavirus pandemic has infected about 270,000 persons while there are some 2,000 fatalities. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the country has remained quite encouraging. However, everyone must take precautions against the virus disease even after getting vaccinated against the pandemic because transmission chances still remain.