Nepal receives 1.3 million COVID vaccines donated by France and Italy

Kathmandu, Jan 27: Nepal on Wednesday received 1.3 million COVID-19 vaccines from France and Italy. 

Added to the 4.1 million vaccines sent by Germany, this brings the number of doses shared by EU member states to 5.4 million, half of the donated vaccines received in Nepal through the COVAX facility. 

The French government provided 685,400 doses of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccine.  

Another 663,600 doses of Vaxzevria have been donated by Italy, one of the first countries to support the creation of a multilateral mechanism to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and among the major contributors to the COVAX facility, with more than 385 million euro and 45 million doses of vaccines.

These donations are in addition to the medical equipment such as ventilators, masks, antigen test kits, spare parts for oxygen plants and the like donated by 14 EU Member States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism when the second COVID wave hit Nepal in 2021.