Feature: Nepalis wait in long queues to receive jabs of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines

Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-09 19:52:16|Editor: huaxia
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KATHMANDU, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Indra Dhakal, 41, a garment trader involved in Nepal-China trade, was waiting for his turn to be inoculated with a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine after already spending three hours in a queue at a Kathmandu-based hospital on Thursday.

"It may take an additional 30-45 minutes before my turn arrives," Dhakal, a resident of Budhanilkantha, at the northern end of the Kathmandu Valley, told Xinhua on the premises of the Civil Service Hospital which had been built with Chinese assistance.

Around 300 people were in the queue waiting for their turn to receive the jab, when Xinhua visited the place on Thursday morning.

The Nepali government has been administering the COVID-19 vaccines donated by China amid resurging COVID-19 cases starting from Wednesday.

A total of 2,655 people aged 18-59 were injected with the vaccine on Wednesday, according to Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population. A batch of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm were delivered to Nepal late last month.

"This vaccine has got global recognition including from the World Health Organization and is being administered across the world. So, I am confident it will keep me safe from the novel coronavirus," said Dhakal.

The Chinese vaccines are being administered at 23 hospitals located in seven districts including Kathmandu, most of which are in the country's capital and its adjacent areas.

Sanitation workers engaged in medicine, water and milk distribution, students studying in China but currently stuck in Nepal due to the pandemic, Nepali students prepared to leave for China for higher education and people involved in cross-border trade between Nepal and China as well as people from certain institutions are being inoculated with the Chinese vaccines, according to the health ministry.

Likewise, people working in postal and telephone services, hotels and restaurants, public transport services, electricity supply, storage and transportation of consumer goods are also among those to be vaccinated, the ministry added.

"People started to stand in a queue from early morning to get Chinese COVID-19 vaccines at the premises of our hospital," Sagar Kumar Rajbhandari, director of the Kathmandu-based Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, told Xinhua on Thursday.

"Around 300 got vaccinated on Wednesday and around 500 are expected to get their first jab on Thursday," the director added. The Nepali government plans to give the second dose of the vaccine after 28 days.

Long queues were observed in many hospitals selected for giving out the vaccination, Jhalak Sharma Gautam, chief of the National Immunization Program under the health ministry, told Xinhua on Thursday.

"There is no hesitation among people to take the Chinese vaccines," he said. The Chinese vaccines arrived when Nepal was struggling to get enough vaccines from other sources to continue its vaccination drive. Nepal had started its vaccination campaign from Jan. 27.

"I am a pharmacist and a medical representative for Cipla, a multinational pharmaceutical company, and I have full trust in the Chinese vaccines because of their efficacy ratio," Nirmal Sherpali, 32, told Xinhua while standing in the queue at the Civil Hospital.

Sherpali, who is also a member of the Nepal Medical Representatives' Association, said that about 1,700 medical representatives with the association will be taking the Chinese vaccines.

Teachers and other staff of some colleges have also received the Chinese vaccines. Badana Tiwari, 26, a lecturer at the Advanced Engineering College in Kathmandu, said she was confident about the Chinese vaccines not only because of their worldwide acceptance, but also due to China's fast recovery from the pandemic.

She was studying at a Shanghai-based university when COVID-19 hit China. She had returned home after completing her studies in June last year. "I saw how China recovered from the pandemic. The Chinese vaccines have also been accepted globally due to their efficacy. So, I have come to get a dose of this vaccine," she said. Enditem

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