The United States of America has provided assistance of 1,534,850 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Nepal through COVAX. This will complement Nepal’s vaccination drive amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Receiving the support at a brief ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli conveyed sincere gratitude to the Government and people of Nepal to the Government and People of the United States for providing the generous support of vaccines. The Prime Minister also acknowledged with thanks the cooperation received from COVAX and its partner institutions.

“The US handed over today more than 15,34,850 doses of J&J vaccines to help Nepal fight against #COVID19. I express sincere gratitude to @POTUS, the Gov and people of the US for this generous cooperation and solidarity,” tweets PM Oli.

Speaking on the occasion, Randy Berry, the Ambassador of the United States to Nepal, said that the vaccine support was the gift from the American people to the friendly Nepalis, reflecting the longstanding friendship between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Minister for Health and Population Krishna Gopal Shrestha and senior officials of the Government and the UN agencies were present on the occasion.

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines were airlifted to Kathmandu by a chartered flight this morning. Minister Shrestha and Ambassador Berry were present at the Tribhuvan International Airportto receive the consignment.

It may be recalled that President Bidya Devi Bhandari and President of the United States Joe Biden had earlier exchanged communications on Nepal-US cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the vaccine support.