KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 4

Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population Roshan Pokharel said that he was not opposed to the ministry's recent decision to use Covishield as the common COVID booster dose for those above 60 and the ones with compromised immunity.

The ministry had recently decided to use Covishield/Astra- Zeneca vaccines as booster shots even if those eligible for it had received other shots - Moderna, Pfizer, or Vero Cell.

"Since the National Immunisation Advisory Committee has decided on heterologous vaccines, we are implementing the committee's decision," he said.

Asked about the missing 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines, Pokharel said earlier the ministry had not received the exact data of the used vaccines, but gradually it was receiving the data. He said the ministry recently got data of 1,300,000 used vaccines that were earlier unaccounted for.

"We are collecting all data and I am sure we will receive the data of all vaccines that we have used. If we record vaccines that were wasted, I think we will have the record of all missing vaccines," Pokharel added. One to five per cent vaccines always go waste, he said.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 5, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.