Kathmandu, Nepal — The United States government is donating an additional 664,560 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Nepal to fight COVID-19. These highly effective, life-saving vaccines for ages 12 and older, provided through the generosity of the American people, add to the 100,620 doses of Pfizer vaccines and 1.535 million single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines the United States donated to Nepal earlier this year.

This support augments the more than $122 million in assistance provided (not including vaccine costs) to Nepal to-date in the form of life-saving medical supplies, training, and technical support. The United States is donating vaccines free of cost and without preconditions, as part of the United States’ ongoing support to Nepal during the pandemic.

In addition, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF are partnering with Nepal to distribute these vaccines, including safely and equitably to regions where they are urgently needed and encouraging people to get vaccinated. USAID has worked closely with Nepal to provide ultra-low temperature freezers, walk-in freezers, walk-in cold rooms, freezer vans, cryogenic gloves, and goggles, as well as technical assistance for maintaining a cold chain to keep vaccines viable as they are transported across the country. This will enhance Nepal’s options and capabilities to receive more vaccines.

“The United States is pleased to donate these additional 664,560 doses of the life-saving Pfizer vaccine to Nepal, continuing our support to Nepal during the COVID pandemic. We are pleased that these vaccines, now authorized for children 12 to 17, will be primarily used to keep children safe and healthy,” said USAID Mission Director Sepideh Keyvanshad.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the United States government has worked directly with the Government of Nepal to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure the continuity of critical health services, and support the country in mitigating the pandemic’s secondary social and economic impacts – particularly on education and livelihoods.

Worldwide, the United States has pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion vaccines to nearly 100 developing countries and has already delivered more than 330 million vaccine doses. With its contribution of $4 billion, the United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global vaccine initiative, COVAX.

U.S. President Joe Biden has committed the U.S. government to donate a billion Pfizer vaccines to low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union, to help vaccinate the world and supercharge the fight against the pandemic. Working through COVAX for equitable distribution, two hundred million doses will be delivered by the end of this year and the remaining 800 million will be delivered in 2022.