Govt preparing to administer COVID-19 booster shots in Nepal, Who can receive it?

KATHMANDU, December 6: The government is making preparations to administer booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine in Nepal. 

The booster shots are likely to be administered to people with chronic diseases, who have received both the first and second doses of the vaccine.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), as of Sunday, 34.1 percent of the total population of the country have received their first shot and 28.6 percent have received their both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Who will be inoculated with the booster shots?

The government is making preparations to inoculate booster shots to people suffering from chronic diseases who received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or were completely vaccinated three months ago, according to DR Vivek Lal Karna, Chief of the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services.

“Once the Cabinet makes decisions on this regard, we will begin administering booster shots,” Dr Karna added.

“Antibodies in  people with chronic diseases are found to have declined after three months of receiving complete shots of COVID-19 vaccines, so we have decided to administer booster shots targeting these people,” Dr Karna further stated.

What is a COVID-19 vaccine booster?

A COVID booster shot is an additional dose of a vaccine given after the protection provided by the original shot(s) has begun to decrease over time. Typically, a booster is administered after the immunity from the initial dose(s) naturally starts to wane. The booster is designed to help people maintain their level of immunity for longer.