Nepal removes legal hurdles to purchase additional Covishield vaccines from India

Kathmandu [Nepal], February 16 (ANI): Nepal has resolved legal hurdles to purchase additional Covishield vaccines from India, Nepal's Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi confirmed.
The Meeting of Council of Ministers held on Tuesday evening decided to pave the way to make an advance payment to Serum Institute of India to facilitate purchasing additional of 2 million vaccines, Tripathi confirmed to ANI over the phone.
"Our legal system has a provision that allows authorities to make advance payment up to 80 per cent of total payable amount. Today's cabinet meeting has got over it, opening the way to make full payment to Serum Institute of India to purchase an additional of 20 Lakh vaccines," Tripathi said.
As per the Minister, the SII (Serum Institute of India) has agreed to provide Nepal vaccines at 4 US Dollars each.
"Now we will send 80 per cent of total cost via Central Bank of Nepal after which the SII would start imprinting batch number in the vaccines and before they will be dispatched we will transfer the remaining 20 per cent amount to the company," the Minister added.
With the arrival of vaccines in the Himalayan Nation, the Government is preparing to roll it out for people above the age of 55 years which is expected to start from next month.
India has supplied a total of 229.7 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine to the global community so far, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.
"As of date, we have supplied a total of 229.7 lakh doses to the global community. Of these, 64.7 lakh doses have been supplied as a grant while 165 lakh doses have been supplied on a commercial basis," said MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava. (ANI)