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| Nepal set to destroy 4 million Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines, 2.5 years after buying them from China |
The Himalayan nation of Nepal is all set to destroy four million doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, received from China in April 2021, according to a report in Epardafas. Sinovac's destruction has been necessitated on the recommendation of the vaccine advisory committee which said the China-made vaccine is not fit for use as a booster dose as well as a regular dose.
The vaccines were procured from China during the peak of the first wave in 2021. However, they have been sitting in central storage of the Health Services Department for over 2.5 years now.
Dr Abhiyaan Gautam, the head of the vaccination branch under the Ministry of Health and Population, Family Welfare Division, said the technical limitations of the vaccine prevented it from being utilised.
Nepal received two shipments of four million Sinovac vaccines on April 25 and 27, 2021 but the majority opted for the likes of Moderna, Covishield and Pfizer.
“The vaccine advisory committee recommended that it should not be used for booster doses, but we could not administer Sinovac even as a first or second dose," said Dr Gautam.
While the vaccines remained unused, the Nepalese government attempted to return the consignment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs took several diplomatic initiatives but each time, Beijing refused to take back the vaccines. To cut losses, Kathmandu attempted to sell the vaccine to other countries but even then, the strategy failed.
"Three or four times there was a diplomatic initiative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take back the vaccine. But tireless efforts for one year were not successful," added Dr Gautam.
The vaccine controversy
It was during former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's reign as the prime minister that Nepal bought the vaccines from China. There was furore surrounding the decision with many within the party criticising Deuba for picking China, notorious for producing sub-standard vaccines.
Notably, in February 2021, leaked documents of correspondence between Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu showcased that Beijing had put pressure on the Himalayan country to accept its COVID-19 vaccine without its efficiency and efficacy being established
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