COVAX Admits Delays, Asks Nepal to Choose Vaccine Other Than Covishield
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WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXIX No. 95 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 37.4 C 9.1 C Monday, May 24, 2021 | 10-02-2078 Bhairahawa Jumla INSIDE COVAX admits Around 25,000 outbound Nepali youths stuck due to flight suspension delays, asks Nepal to KATHMANDU: Thousands of Nepali youths who were planning to take up jobs overseas have been unable to leave the country due to the suspen- choose vaccine other sion of international flights since the past two weeks owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid record spikes in Covid-19 infections and deaths, the government had suspended all inter- than Covishield national flights, except for two flights between Kathmandu and New Delhi, since May 6 midnight. Special char- The latest communication is a blow to the government’s tered flights however have been allowed. According to an estimate by lacklustre efforts to procure jabs as it had been banking the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, an umbrella on the facility to give second doses to the over 65s. organisation of Nepali recruiting agencies that supply Nepali migrants ARJUN POUDEL second dose after 12 to 16 weeks. to foreign employers, nearly 25,000 KATHMANDU, MAY 23 Nepal is supposed to receive around Nepalis could not migrate abroad 13 million doses of vaccines under the since the imposition of the flight sus- Amid uncertainty over Covid-19 vac- COVAX facility in instalments, and pension. “Thousands of Nepalis have cine supplies to Nepal, the country’s around 2 million doses were expected been deprived of overseas employ- one immediate hope, the COVAX facil- to arrive by the end of March. ment opportunities,” said Sujit ity, has communicated to the govern- Officials until last week said that Kumar Shrestha, general secretary of ment that it won’t be able to provide they were expecting to get “some” the association. (Details on Pg 3) the jabs before next year. With this, it doses under COVAX. remains unclear when those 1.3 mil- But now with COVAX, a facility No restriction on withdrawing lion people above 65 years of age, who which is a partnership between CEPI took their first shots between March 7 (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness cash, bankers’ association says and March 15, will get their booster Innovations), Gavi (Global Alliance KATHMANDU: A notice issued by Nepal doses. for Vaccines and Immunizations), Bankers Association for its member According to officials, COVAX, an UNICEF and the World Health banks across the country to limit international vaccine-sharing scheme Organisation, admitting delays in sup- their services in order to avoid crowd- backed by the United Nations, has plies, Nepal’s vaccine hopes have suf- ing to prevent coronavirus spread has requested Nepal to look for other fered a major setback. sparked controversy. Customers say options. According to officials, COVAX, in a that the new rule has created confu- “COVAX has requested us to explore communication last week, said that it sion among the bankers as some other vaccines apart from Covishield,” regrets that its schedule has been banks stopped the withdrawals even said Dr Dipendra Raman Singh, direc- impacted by delays and reductions in though the association’s notice clear- tor general at the Department of supply availability. ly told banks not to accept deposits of Health Services. Apart from Covishield, the less than Rs50,000. The directive was According to the government sched- AstraZeneca type vaccine manufac- enforced on May 13. According to the ule, the booster doses to the 1.3 million tured by the Serum Institute of India, notice, banks will be providing the people, who took their first shots of COVAX has committed to supplying most necessary services only to avoid Covishield, should have been given Pfizer BioNTech vaccines to partici- crowds and it is applicable on all starting last Monday, which is eight pant countries across the world. branches during the lockdown period. weeks after the first dose as recom- Nepal so far has received 2.348 One issue, according to the copy of mended. million doses of Covishield and the notice seen by the Post, is that POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA Given the uncertainty over procure- 800,000 doses of China Sinopharm’s banks will not allow deposit amounts A boy balances his bicycle on one wheel on an empty road at Swayambhu in Kathmandu on Sunday. For nearly a month now, Kathmandu Valley ment of Covishield vaccine, the gov- BBIBP-CorV. less than Rs50,000. (Details on Pg 5) and most of the country have been placed under prohibitory orders in an attempt to stem the spread of Covid-19. ernment is now mulling giving the >> Continued on page 2 Oli attempts to use citizenship ordinance for his political gains Timing raises questions over intentions as bill had been pending in Parliament for years. TIKA R PRADHAN Sunday promulgated Nepal Parliament when the bill was pending KATHMANDU, MAY 23 Citizenship (first amendment) there for years. Ordinance 2021. According to Law Minister Lilanath Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has Many believe the ordinance was Shrestha, the ordinance addresses two attempted to use one of the most sen- introduced to appease the Mahantha major issues—issuing citizenship by sitive issues to his political advantage Thakur-Rajendra Mahato faction of descent to the children of the couple amid political fluidity, as he finds him- the Janata Samajbadi Party. The two who received citizenship in Nepal self cornered. leaders have stood in support of Oli of before September 20, 2015 and citizen- President Bidya Bhandari on late, even in his Friday House dissolu- ship by descent to the children of a tion move, which has been criti- Nepali mother, whose father’s wherea- cised for being “unconstitution- bouts are unknown. al, illegal and immoral”. The Bill to amend Nepal Citizenship A minister in the Oli Cabinet Act-2006 has been pending in said that the ordinance was Parliament since August 7, 2018. brought in view of the urgency, Nepali politicians’ reluctance to as a large number of people have pass the bill had met with massive been suffering because they criticism, for rights activists don’t have citizenship certifi- argued that they refused to treat cates due to a lack of law. both men and women equally, as The minister, however, would without the law, mothers were not say why it was brought barred from passing citizenship to through an ordinance and why it their children. was not endorsed from >> Continued on page 2 Despite coronavirus scare, more than 170 climbers summit Everest in a day With a record 408 permits issued, the mountain remains crowded even after many abandoned their ascent as climbers and guides show Covid-19 symptoms. Acharya, director of the Department of Tourism. The exact number of ascents so far is not immediately available. There could be more climbs during the second window. After Monday there is a brief period of good weather on Wednesday but it is not clear wheth- er it will last long enough to allow a summit bid, according to Acharya. With a record 408 permits issued to climb the 8,848.86-metre mountain despite the pandemic, Everest is crowded. The highest number of per- mits issued before this year was 381 in 2019. There were no mountaineering expeditions in Nepal last year as the country remained closed to foreigners Evolution Trading Pvt. Ltd. because of the pandemic. Each foreign permit holder usually Evo Beverages Pvt. Ltd. This handout picture shows tents at the Everest base camp on Friday. has one high altitude guide to help him get to the top, meaning that there SANGAM PRASAIN the mountain on Monday. could be some 800 summiteers if all Eco-Infinity Pvt. Ltd. KATHMANDU, MAY 23 “The second window of good weath- get to the top. er opened on Sunday and more than During the first good weather win- More than 170 climbers reached the 170 climbers reached the summit. We dow from May 10 to May 12, around 150 summit of Everest on Sunday and are expecting another 100 successful had reached the summit. another 100 or so are hoping to climb climbs on Monday,” said Mira >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Despite coronavirus scare, Bajhang local unit dispatches health more than 170 climbers ... >> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A week ago, Austrian Furtenbach teams to highlands to aid yarsa pickers With the good weather window Adventures abandoned its attempt to being small and the number of climb- scale Everest after its seven sherpas ers high, the Department of Tourism fell ill with Covid-19-like symptoms as Many people die from easily treatable ailments in the highlands due to lack of timely medical care. this year introduced a new system of Nepal battles a brutal second wave of quotas to make the summit attempt as infections. BASANTA PRATAP SINGH per which not more than 170 are Tendi Sherpa, managing director of BAJHANG, MAY 23 allowed to reach the top on a particu- Iceland Trekking and Expedition, the lar day. local company supporting the Saipal Rural Municipality, a remote A picture of a long line of moun- Austrian company, said it had 21 for- local unit in Bajhang district, has dis- taineers waiting to get to the summit eign climbers and 15 of them decided patched health workers to the high- in May 2019 went viral, raising ques- to quit. lands where thousands of yarsagum- tions about Nepali officials’ disregard However, six have been searching ba (Cordyceps sinensis) collectors for the lives of mountaineers as a long for other local agencies to help them have gathered to forage for the high- exposure to the elements at high alti- in their expedition with guides and ly-priced caterpillar fungus.