Kathmandu, February 2

Minister for Health and Population Padam Giri has directed the authorities concerned to manage booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines in view of the continued threat of the disease.

'The infectious disease can spread to Nepal due to open border with India. So, it is urgent to manage booster shots,' he said while inspecting the Department of Health Services today.

'It has become late to administer the booster dose, I wonder why there is a delay. Make arrangements of booster shots immediately along with an action plan,' he said.

He also directed the concerned authorities to be responsible and maintain cent per cent transparency in the process of purchasing medicines as the matter, he said, 'is very sensitive'. Giri urged them to make the health institutions techno-friendly.

Minister Giri said people should feel changes in the health sector and advised the Department to ensure pro-people service. He urged divisions under the Department to assess their own weaknesses, focus on corrections, and make services prompt and transparent.

The health minister said he was updated about complaints that medical equipment allotted by the Department to the hospitals largely remained unused due to various reasons. He directed the bodies concerned to take stock of the situation and take action accordingly.

The Department Director General Dr Dipendra Raman Singh briefed the health minister regarding the Department's overall state of affairs.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 3, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.