KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 13
The government is all set to provide chronically ill people above 17 years of age across the country with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from tomorrow.
The Pfizer vaccine provided by the US through COVAX facility is said to be more beneficial for chronically ill people and people suffering from different ailments.
The Family Welfare Division of the Department of Health Services, which is undertaking the responsibility of administering the vaccine, said they were planning to inoculate approximately 50,000 people suffering from chronic diseases.
People suffering from ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, people with problems in lungs and heart, people undergoing dialysis, people suffering from all kinds of cancer, and people who transplanted body parts, among others, can receive the Pfizer vaccines. "The vaccine will be provided on the basis of first come first serve," said Sagar Dahal, head of the vaccine division of the FWD.
This means that if more than 50,000 chronically ill people come forward for vaccination, they won't be able to get the jab.
"We are unable to provide more than the allocated number of vaccines as we do not have more Pfizer vaccines," said Dahal. Earlier, as many as 100,620 doses of the Pfizer vaccine against COV- ID-19 was provided by the US government on October 25. The two-dose vaccine that needs to be administered within a period of a month, must be maintained at minus 70 degrees.
The authorities are planning to provide first dose of the Pfizer vaccine for seven days starting tomorrow. The second dose of vaccine will be provided from December 13 to December 19.
If less than 50,000 people come forward to be inoculated, the remaining vaccine will be provided to chronically ill children aged between 12 and 17 years. The chronically ill people are required to provide hospital cards as evidence of being ill.
Inoculating the Pfizer vaccine might take longer than other vaccines as these vaccines are available in vials and must be shaken well before being administered.
Each vial contains six doses of the vaccine, which need to be inoculated as soon as it is taken out of the container.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 14, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
