Covid 19
The government started the second dose of vaccination against coronavirus for children between the age group of 5-12 on Monday. The children who were inoculated with the first dose of vaccine against the contagion between June 23-29 are being administered the vaccine.
Children in 27 districts — Jhapa, Ilam, Sunsari, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Parsa, Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Chitwan, Kavrepalanchok, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kaski, Nawalaparasi East, Nawalparasi West, Rupandehi, Dang, Banke, Bardia, Surkhet, Kailali, Kanchanpur and Dadeldhura are being given the second dose of the vaccine.
Children need to show their vaccination card issued to them during the first dose to receive the second dose. The vaccination drive will run for a week.
Pfizer vaccine
Around 3.7 million children in the age group will be administered the second shot of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine.
This is the only vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization for use in children as of now. There are two types of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccines for children: one is given to the 5-11 age group and the other for those aged 12 and above.
Getting vaccinated is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself against Covid-19, help end the pandemic and stop new variants emerging, the World Health Organization has said.
“The vaccination against coronavirus has been proved effective. It helps in keeping children safe from severe pneumonia and decreases admission rate in intensive care units,” said Dr Yuba Nidhi Basaula, director at Kanti Children’s Hospital.
Nearest school
The Ministry of Health and Population has advised people to take their children to the nearest school for vaccination.
The ministry has aimed to inoculate 98.2 percent of the population with the first dose of the vaccine and 86.8 per cent with complete doses at the earliest. As of July 18, 70.4 percent of the population has taken the first jab.
On Monday, the country recorded 457 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours.
With the daily rise in the number of coronavirus cases across the country, the government has requested people to take vaccines to prevent themselves from the infection.
“The children are comparatively at low risk of the infection, but they are likely to transmit the virus to others who are susceptible to infections. They need to be vaccinated,” said Dr Bibek Kumar Lal, director at the ministry’s Family Health Division.
Nepal so far has been administering vaccines of various brands-Astrazeneca, Vero Cell, Moderna, Janssen, Sinovac, and Pfizer-BioNtech—to prevent the virus spread. The country has received 58.9 million doses of Covid vaccine till July 18.
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Nepal's Covid jab drive
The vaccination drive against Covid-19 began in Nepal in January 2021. Frontline health and sanitation workers were the first to receive the vaccines in the campaign. The government had started inoculating children above 12 years and teenagers below 18 with the Pfizer vaccine in the country from November 2021.
The first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in Nepal in a 32-year-old Nepali student who had returned from Wuhan, a Chinese city where the disease is believed to have originated.
According to the ministry, the second phase will start from September 12 and will continue till September 17 in the remaining 50 districts.
Some people might experience mild side effects after being vaccinated against Covid-19. Common side effects to Covid vaccines include a fever, head or body aches and a sore arm. These symptoms usually go away within a day or two.
The ministry has urged people to maintain a safe distance from others, avoid crowds, wear masks, keep indoor spaces well ventilated, clean hands regularly and cover coughs and sneezes to prevent the virus from spreading despite getting vaccinated.
