Sixty-one-year-old Sushila Khatiwada, a resident of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-4,Chitwan, was planning to take the Covd-19 vaccine in the second phase of the immunisation campaign.

Khatiwada, who is suffering from multiple comorbidities—high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes and thyroid malfunction, is at high risk of severe illness if she catches Covid-19.

“We were planning to immunise our mother during the second phase of the immunisation drive, but we are told that priority criteria was changed,” her son Krishna Prasad, told the Post. “Authorities should prioritise people like my mother, who have underlying conditions.”

As of Thursday, 3,012 people have died due to coronavirus infection in the country. The Ministry of Health and Population said that of the deceased, over 80 percent were found to have comorbidities. However, officials concerned did not bother to prioritise the vaccination of people underlying conditions.

“Yes, the majority of the people, who were hospitalised, became seriously ill or even died after the infection of coronavirus had comorbidities,” Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, joint spokesperson at the Health Ministry, told the Post. “Despite knowing this, we could not keep those people in the priority list, as we do not have authentic data of those people.”

Of the people who have died due to coronavirus infection, 72.1 percent were above 55 years years old, 18.9 percent in the 55-64 years group, 26.2 percent in the 65-74 group, 19.6 percent in the 75-84 category and 7.4 percent were above 85.

The government had earlier planned to inoculate everyone above 55 in the second phase of the vaccination drive, but due to its failure to secure sufficient doses, priority criteria was changed in the last hour to immunise only those above 65.

Of the total deaths due to Covid-19 in Nepal, 53.2 percent occurred in those above 65.

Most countries, including India, have been administering Covid-19 vaccine to people having comorbidities along with the elderly. India has started inoculating everyone above 60 and to those having any of the 20 comorbidities, including diabetes and heart ailments with hospital admission in the past year.

Likewise, those having post-cardiac transplant, moderate or severe valvular heart disease, end-stage kidney disease on haemodialysis, a severe respiratory disease with hospitalisation in the last two years, primary immunodeficiency diseases/HIV infection and angina and hypertension/diabetes on treatment, according to livemint.com

“We know that those having underlying conditions are at high risk of dying and becoming seriously ill, but like other developed countries, we do not have authentic data on those people,” Dr Jhalak Sharma, chief of the Child Health Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services, told the Post.

Public health experts say that immunisation of those having underlying conditions not only helps reduce the death rate, but also lighten the pressure on health facilities, intensive care units and ventilators.

“I don’t think there should be any problems to immunise people who are getting regular dialysis or have been diagnosed with cancer, heart ailments or diabetes,” Dr Prabhat Adhikari, an infectious disease and critical care expert told the Post. “What we need is willpower on the part of the government.”

Officials at the Health Ministry said people with underlying conditions will be covered, when their turn comes. “We are trying to start immunising all those above 55 at the earliest, and then move to those above 40,” Sharma, chief of the Child Health Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services, added.

“We believe most of the people having underlying conditions will be covered if we could immunise people of these age groups.”