Amid a rise in new cases of coronavirus infection driven by XBB.1.16, a sub-variant of Omicron, the Ministry of Health and Population lacks vaccine doses to inoculate both the younger and adult populations.

Doctors say vaccines are the only reliable means to lessen the severity and deaths from coronavirus infections, as the general public stopped following safety measures long ago.

“Health authorities have been offering Covid jabs to certain groups only but they do not have doses for hundreds of thousands of people of other age groups,” said Dr Prabhat Adhikari, an infectious disease and critical care expert. “Our own experience shows that vaccines lessen the severity and death rate from Covid-19 infection. Relevant authorities must ensure vaccines to all eligible populations. ”

The health ministry on Monday confirmed the spread of Omicron’s sub-variant XBB.1.16 in the country.

Of 24 swab samples, on which whole-genome sequencing was carried out at the National Public Health Laboratory, the XBB.1.16 sub-variant was detected in 10, which is around 42 percent of the total samples.

Along with XBB.1.16, other sub-variants XBB.1.5, XBB.2.6 and XBF, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.5 and BA.5.2 were also detected in swab samples of infected persons.

“We are not in a position to launch a vaccination drive, as we do not have doses for the same,” said Basanta Adhikari, chief of the Health Office, Kathmandu. “Vaccine doses were supplied only for people above 55 years old, pregnant women, health workers, those taking immunosuppressants and those having comorbidities.”

Experts say that by inoculating a maximum number of the population, Nepal managed to lessen the severity and deaths, especially in the second and third waves of the pandemic driven by Delta and Omicron variants, respectively.

“The authorities should try their best to vaccinate a maximum number of people with second booster shots,” said Adhikari. “As the virus is just penetrating communities, we don’t know how severe a disease it causes. We should not forget that the sub-variant of the XBB family wreaked havoc in China.”

Health ministry officials, however, claimed that Covax, the international vaccine-sharing scheme, has promised to deliver sufficient doses for the entire eligible population.

“The problem is that an uptake of the vaccine has not increased despite the surge in new cases,” said Dr Bibek Kumar Lal, director of the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. “Risk perception has not increased in population, which is among the reasons for low vaccine uptake. We are ready to bring as many doses as needed but we have limited capacity to store Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.”

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius.

Nepal so far has received three million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent Covid vaccine. Of them, around 1.5 million are in stock, which is being supplied in the districts for use among priority groups.

Officials say that even if a decision has been made to provide vaccine doses on the basis of priority groups first, health workers have been asked to administer the jabs to all who seek them.

The bivalent vaccine includes a component of the original virus strain as well as a part of the Omicron variant to provide broad protection against Covid.

The vaccine is called a bivalent Covid shot as it contains two components—the original virus strain and Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants. Doctors say a bivalent Covid vaccine may also be referred to as an “updated” Covid vaccine booster dose.

Doctors say XBB is a hybrid lineage of two Omicron sub-variants. It is said that the sub-variant has the capacity to evade immunity from prior infections and vaccinations.

Meanwhile, the ministry said that 80 new cases of Covid have been reported on Tuesday. Of the 466 polymerase chain reaction tests, 64 tested positive and 16 others also tested positive in 651 antigen tests.

Active cases reached 279 on Tuesday.