Identifying the virus variants spreading in the country is equally important to contain the infections, health experts say.

Over 45 percent of hospital workers had developed antibodies by December, offering clues as to why new cases declined.

With the arrival of the second consignment of million doses, officials likely to request WHO to delay the shipment of vaccines under COVAX programme.

Following a scramble in the first phase of campaign, micro-level planning, expansion of immunisation centres and taking people into confidence is imperative, they say.

Distribution of complementary foods and micronutrients alone will not address the problem, nutritionists say.

Officials say the government will soon secure sufficient doses to inoculate senior citizens under the campaign scheduled to start on March 7.

They ask, When the prime minister believes he knows everything, what can experts do?

China has decided to provide 500,000 doses of BBIBP-CorV vaccine, developed by Sinopharm, under grant assistance.

Nepal is buying the jabs from the Serum Institute of India at $4 per dose, for which the Cabinet has given the nod for 80 percent advance payment–around Rs749 million–to the manufacturer.

The government’s focus on vaccination while ignoring importance of testing, contact tracing and genome sequencing could prove costly, they say.

Around 300,000 local representatives and staffers and those working at financial institutions are on the list, but without proper planning, it’s unclear if all will be covered.

Officials had earlier said second dose will be administered four weeks after the first one. But fresh recommendations from WHO suggest otherwise, giving rise to dropout fears.

With technology to detect new variants not available, and inoculation taking time to complete, doctors urge all to continue following safety measures strictly.

Bankers, transport staff and public utility workers, among other priority groups, to get the vaccine.

Scientific studies were needed to inform policy on who should get the vaccine and when, they argue.