Birendranagar: A vaccination campaign against corona is going to start in Karnali from Monday. The campaign is being resumed after the government sent 59,000 doses of Verosell and 17,320 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Karnali.
According to the provincial health service directorate, 17330 people have been vaccinated against corona so far. Of them, 28,848 have already received the second dose of cov-shield vaccine, said Nodnarayan Chaudhary, information officer of the directorate.
According to him, 22,570 people have received the first dose of the Verosel vaccine. "Some have already taken the second dose of Verosel," he said. "We are not sure how many have taken it as there are no data from all the districts."
According to the directorate, from Monday, all the 10 districts will run the vaccination campaign for three or four days at a time and place. According to Chaudhary, the vaccine has already reached Surkhet and Dailekh and preparations are underway to send it to other districts. He informed that the vaccine will be sent depending on the condition and capacity of the vaccine storage. "Only the first dose will be sent to places where storage is not possible for a long time," he said. "We are ready to send the second dose to places where storage facilities are available."
Chief of the District Public Health Office, Surkhet, Chetan Nidhi Wagle said that age proof documents (citizenship, driver's license, or ward recommendation) have been made mandatory to get the vaccine. According to him, university professors, teachers, staff, and public transport drivers and co-drivers will also be vaccinated at this stage. "Those who do not have an official identity card will not be vaccinated," he said. He said that people with corona symptoms, critically ill, and those who have not had corona for less than 30 days have been advised not to be vaccinated.
An additional 23,000 citizens will be vaccinated in the US Johnson & Johnson after the end of the Verosell vaccination campaign. Wagle said the Johnson vaccine would be given to people in the 50- to 54-year-old age group and to citizens traveling to countries where vaccination is mandatory. According to him, the vaccine will be given to 'A' and 'B' class disabled, health workers, and sanitation workers. He said the first priority would be given to citizens going abroad as one dose of the Johnson vaccine would be enough.
