By Asha Shah, Kathmandu, July 10: Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, which is being given to Nepal by the United States, is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on Monday.

US Ambassador to Nepal Randy W. Berry on Friday made an official announcement on his Facebook page that Johnson & Johnson would provide more than 1.5 million vaccines for Nepal.

Under this, most probably the 1,534,850 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will arrive in Nepal on Monday, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population and Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Director Dr Krishna Prasad Poudel informed The TRN Online.

The single-shot vaccine is made in the United States by the Johnson & Johnson Company.

What is Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

According to the Coordinator of the Vaccination Advisory Committee Dr Taranath Pokhrel, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is scientifically a single dose. "This vaccine is similar to the vaccine store of the Ministry of Health and Population. It can be kept at two to eight degrees centigrade," he said. 

He said the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would start from the upper age group as per the action plan. "We are currently vaccinating people over the age of 60," he said. "We will administer upcoming vaccines for the people below the age of 60, 55 to 60 years of age and below 55 years,” he said.

He said that the issue of vaccination starting is being discussed. "The Ministry of Health and Population is working on an action plan to launch the vaccination campaign. It will be resolved soon," he said.

Similarly, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Krishna Prasad Poudel also said that the vaccination campaign will start soon. "We are in planning. Gradually, the vaccination campaign takes place in the age group as planned," he said. 

Meanwhile, the government has brought eight lakh doses of vaccine to Nepal on Friday as per the agreement with China to buy 4 million Vero Cell vaccines. Although preparations were made to bring one million doses of vaccine at a time, only eight lakh vaccines were brought due to lack of space onboard.

A total of 1,534,850 from the United States and 4 million doses of vaccines purchased from China will be able to vaccinate an additional 3,534,850 people. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, imported from the United States, requires a single dose, while the Vero Cell vaccine requires two doses.