Kathmandu: Health experts have suggested that the covishield vaccine be administered safely.
According to the government’s goal, vaccination experts have suggested that people should be vaccinated with confidence when they are not vaccinated.
Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, misleading messages have been spread against the vaccine, so experts have clarified about the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.
According to the Head of Family Child Health and Vaccination Division under Health Services Department Dr. Jhalak Sharma Gautam, Covishield vaccine is being used in 16 other countries including Nepal. He said that Covishield has been recognized in Nepal on the basis of quality of vaccine, standards adopted during storage, production capacity and low income.
Health Journalists Forum Nepal organized an interaction program on the epidemic of Covid-19 and the effectiveness of Covishield vaccine in the capital on Monday. In which, experts in the field of health answered the questions raised in the covishield vaccine. At the same time, the chief expert of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Roshan Pokharel informed that the vaccination procurement process has moved forward not to stop the ongoing vaccination campaign. He said more vaccines would be available in the next few weeks.
According to him, the Ministry of Health is preparing to vaccinate the citizens above the age of 55 from March 5.
“Covishield came only after it was tested in more than 12,000 people and found to be safe and effective. It is natural to be apprehensive about new diseases and new vaccines at the beginning. “The government and the media have an equal role to play in building trust in the vaccine industry,” Pokhrel said.
Bharat Bhattarai, Director General of the Department of Drug Management, said that so far the covishield vaccine has been allowed for emergency use in Nepal and some other vaccines have been applied for approval. He further added that after completing all the necessary procedures to ensure that the vaccine is safe in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), Covishield was allowed to use the same method in other vaccines.
Similarly, Dr. Anup Bastola from Shukraraj Tropical and Communicable Diseases Hospital urged not to have any doubts about Covishield vaccine. According to him, people do not get sick even if they get corona infection by vaccination. Stating that it is necessary to dispel the misconceptions about vaccination in the community before going for vaccination campaign, he said.
Vaccination expert Dr Shyam Raj Upreti said that Nepalis were also able to get vaccinated due to the good results of the third phase of Covishield trial conducted in UK, South Africa and Brazil. He said the vaccine was effective because it tested positive in more than 12,000 people in the third phase.
He also suggested the government to keep the difference between the first and second dose vaccines between 8 to 12 weeks. “Research has shown that the greater the difference in vaccination time, the more effective the vaccine will be. So we are making that decision too, ‘he said. The government had earlier decided to administer the second dose four weeks later.
Public Health Expert Dr. Kedar Baral said that the vaccine used by aNepal is safe. ‘Some people seem to have a normal effect when vaccinated. No one has been affected, so there is no need to be afraid to get vaccinated, ”he said.