COVID-19: Elderlies in Nepal wait for months to get inoculated

By Binod Prasad Adhikari
Kathmandu [Nepal], August 10 : Wait for Baburam Nagarkoti (80) and Laxmi Nagarkoti (67) is finally over as both the elderlies went to a nearby vaccination center to take the second dose of anti-COVID vaccine for which they had been waiting for more than four months.
Suffering from paralysis along with prolonged illness of asthma, Baburam struggled to reach nearby vaccination center because of poor infrastructure. Gasping for breath on the way and back, it all got vanished for Baburam after he got the second dose of anti-COVID vaccine.
"I am happy; today I got my second dose. It has brought happiness and cheer; I went up to the vaccination center and was administered the jab. Now I feel that I would be protected from coronavirus due to this vaccine and would live a longer life. I am feeling relaxed now; there's no problem after receiving it," Baburam told ANI on Monday after returning back home.
"I went along with my wife and received the vaccine. Daughter, grandson, spouse and son took me there and I was happy while undergoing through the process of inoculation," he said.
The Nagarkoti couples have received their first dose of the anti-COVID vaccine earlier in March when the Himalayan Nation started its inoculation campaign after receiving jabs from India in the donation.
Earlier on Friday, Bhutan delivered its surplus 230,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under a reciprocity condition, at the request of the Nepal government.
Japan also shipped 1.6 million doses of AstraZeneca to Nepal through COVAX, an international vaccine sharing scheme under United Nations. Nepal so far has received 10,526,270 doses of vaccine from various sources.
But the ground reality and struggle of people to take the jabs have continued to remain the same. Elderlies had to queue outside and inside vaccination centers around the capital for hours due to various logistical and managerial failures.
Braving the scorching sun, elderlies with existing health problems queued outside the inoculation centers to take the jabs supposed to save their lives but exposure to crowds has increased the fear of transmission to the most vulnerable groups.
"I came here at 9 AM, stood in line, and they said to give a token to all but later it got mixed up. Management of the queues and other aspects is worst here," said Bhola Pokhrel, one of the elderly who was waiting till mid-day to take the second dose.
"It could have been managed systematically, providing the vaccine on the basis of the flow of people wouldn't have created this kind of situation. One person arrives followed by others and a crowd is created, it is not known who is eligible to take the vaccine and who is not. Elderlies have come here to take the vaccine who have received the first dose about 6 months before, lack of management has continued till now. Rather than controlling the COVID it further is fuelling the COVID and helping to spread it," Pokhrel further added.
Tension at various inoculation center rises further after the allotted vaccine finishes off and the wait for it continues which might result in officials sending off the people back home to come the next day.
Most of the inoculation center that lays outside ring-road of capital Kathmandu which ANI visited on Monday, all had vaccines number capped to 200 doses. Meanwhile, the number of people standing in queue for jabs stood double the number of allotted vaccines, creating chaos in those centers.
Local officials who have been overseeing the campaign claims that people's mentality to get the vaccine early and first amongst others has become the main problem behind the managerial failure.
"We are inoculating people with the vaccine which has been donated by Japan and Bhutan as the second dose of the previously administered vaccine. It is meant for population over the age of 60, teachers and medical officers," said Mahesh Rima, one of the local representatives who have been looking after the inoculation drive in local bodies.
"Vaccines for our center arrived only after 10 AM and we only have one location and personnel to inoculate people. Everyone is anxious and they are in a hurry that I should get the vaccine first and early which has resulted in the situation as if there is a lack of management but it's not true, it all is going in the system and it is evident everywhere. It would go as per the system," Rimal added.
Nepal started its vaccination drive in January with the 1 million doses of Covishield gifted by the Indian government. India had also provided 100,000 doses of Covishield under a grant for the Nepal Army as well.
Nepal so far has used Covishield, Vero Cell and Janssen, developed and manufactured by Johnson & Johnson to inoculate its population against Covid-19.
Of the 5.8 million doses of Vero Cell, 4 million doses were bought from China while 1.8 million doses were provided by the Chinese government under grant assistance.
On July 12, the United States provided 1,534,850 doses of Janssen through the COVAX facility. The government has unveiled a plan to procure 42 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by February next year, and inoculate all eligible citizens above 12 years of age before mid-April.
About 8.398 per cent of Nepal's population have been inoculated with the first dose of the vaccine while 15.145 per cent have received a full dosage of anti-COVID vaccine till 9th August, as per the data from the Ministry of Health and Population.