Booster dose being given to senior citizens in Baglung

Senior citizens between the ages of 62 and 64 are being given booster doses against Covid-19 from today. About 3,500 people in that age group will receive an additional dose of the vaccine in Baglung.

Raju Khatri, the Vaccine Supervisor at the District Health Office, said that booster doses are being given to senior citizens who have completed 6 months since receiving the second dose. According to him, a vaccination campaign against covid-19 is underway in all ten local levels of the district.

"Vaccination services are being conducted twice a year at each local level. Booster doses are also given under this scheme," he said. He further added that a booster dose would be given to all senior citizens in the district as per the government policy.

Earlier, booster doses were given to about 3,000 people including health workers, security personnel, staff, and journalists who would be deployed at the frontlines during the pandemic. Covishield and Vero Cell vaccines have been given as booster doses. Supervisor Khatri said that a new vaccine distribution policy has been decided to give booster doses of Covishield, regardless of the previous vaccines.

The health branch of Baglung Municipality has stated that a booster dose will be given to the senior citizens today and Tuesday. Vaccination services will be provided from the health branch premises of the city. Other local levels are also conducting vaccination campaigns at local convenience. According to the Health Office, 88 percent of the people above 18 years of age in the district have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with the first dose. The number of people receiving both doses of the vaccine is 78 percent.

Moderna vaccination has also been started for about 27,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. Children under the age of 12 have not yet been vaccinated. The government aims to bring forth vaccination programs for all Nepalis within the next four months. If the vaccination campaign is targeted at all age groups, 250,544 people will have to be vaccinated in Baglung.

Currently, the number of actively infected people of Covid-19 in the district is 484. In recent days, the number of infected people is decreasing daily. On Thursday, 22 infected people were added and 85 recovered from the coronavirus.