Kathmandu: The government on Sunday unveiled a common minimum program. One of the main priorities of the program was to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the covid-19 epidemic.
Point number two of the joint government's policy and program states, "To take initiative to establish a vaccine lab in Nepal for vaccine production."
In a general sense, the place where a vaccine is produced is called a vaccine lab.
While some countries of the world are making vaccines against COVID-19, in Nepal, the discussion about its possibility is just beginning. There seems to be a lot of interest in the possibility of vaccination in Nepal, but no one has dared to do so.
According to Nepali drug manufacturers, no vaccine has been developed in the field of human health in Nepal so far. Of course, finding a new disease and a vaccine against it is a challenging task in itself. This requires a large amount of investment, a large market, the latest technology, and skilled manpower. Vaccination cannot be imagined without these important aspects.
Countries including China, Pakistan, and India have sought and developed this vaccine. Other nations are working hard to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. But in Nepal, it is finally being imagined.
Nepali products say: We can produce vaccines, government support is needed Indigenous drug manufacturers say that vaccines against covid-19 can be produced in Nepal. But they demand that the government facilitate policy production for vaccine production.
Deepak Dahal, former president of the Nepal Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, says, “Animal vaccines are being developed in Nepal. Now it has to be made for man. Can be made in Nepal. It is possible. '
He said that Nepal was lagging behind in vaccines due to the government's policy of relying on others rather than producing it itself.
"Right now, when India says we can't vaccinate, we are running around from time to time. If the government had already made only its guidelines, it would have been much easier now, ”he said.
Although the government has not provided financial assistance for vaccine production, it should provide policy support, he said. According to him, after the vaccine is produced in Nepal, the government should guarantee to buy the vaccine from domestic producers and not from outside.
He said that the government is ready to produce the raw material required for the vaccine from anywhere even if it is guaranteed by the government. He said, 'You make a vaccine. We had to guarantee that we would buy 80 percent of the vaccines you produce. Only then will we be ready to invest. '
Levies required investment of domestic vaccine production levies for domestic entrepreneurs says investment required.
Dahal, former president of the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, says that billions of rupees are needed for lab production, cold chain, physical infrastructure, and manpower. He said that even though he was ready to invest in vaccine production, there was a fear that the government would not support him.
"We have the same fear about vaccines now. We invested in vaccines. But the government will give us free vaccines from abroad tomorrow. "We will take it from there. If we say that, our investment will fall to zero," he said.
According to him, the government should ensure these things for vaccine production:
One, 'providing concessional loans'
Two, 'study and development costs'
Three, 'No customs duty on machinery
And, fourth, 'guarantee the government will buy the vaccines produced'
He urges to create a conducive environment for indigenous industries for vaccine production. He said that manpower educated in microbiology is needed for vaccination and that manpower is still in Nepal. He informed that they can make skilled manpower by training them at home and abroad.
Chairman of the Nepal Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Narayan Bahadur Chhetri says that even if the investment, equipment, and technology required for vaccination could be managed, skilled manpower would not be possible without government encouragement. He said that the government should take initiative for the production of vaccines.
He said, "There are also industrialists who are ready to invest in vaccine production and introduce technology." But the government's policy is to exclude indigenous industrialists and exclude foreigners.
Santosh KC, information officer at the Department of Drug Management, said that the government has formed a separate committee for feasibility study and development of vaccine production. He informed that a committee has been formed under the Ministry of Industry for the development of vaccines and physical infrastructure.
He said that there is a possibility of production of covid vaccine as the veterinary vaccine is produced in Nepal.
He said, 'Vaccine production is possible in Nepal. After covid, we also got a kind of alert for vaccine production. '
He said that the cost of vaccine production would reach billions as a different environment would require physical infrastructure and technology. He said that manpower working in biotechnology, vaccines, pharmacists, microbiologists, and other manpower is needed.
What is a vaccine? When an epidemic spreads in any country or world, the discussion of vaccination begins. Only then is a new vaccine sought for the prevention and control of the disease.
Vaccines are biological products that increase a person's ability to fight related diseases and can even help control, prevent, and eradicate the disease.
Viruses in particular have two properties. One, 'pathogenicity, which is called pathogenicity.' Second, 'enhancing the body's ability to fight disease, which is called antigenicity.'
