Govt decides to purchase 4 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China

KATHMANDU: The government has decided to buy four million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Officials confirmed that a Cabinet meeting on Monday took a decision to that effect as per a proposal moved by the Ministry of Health, but details like price and when the vaccines will arrive were not immediately known.

As per officials, vaccines would be bought under a non-disclosure agreement, as proposed by Sinopharm. Nepal’s procurement laws, however, do not allow a non-disclosure agreement. Two senior government officials who have been involved in negotiations for buying vaccines from China said that the Chinese side has agreed to “provide the jabs at a discounted price.”

The government in February signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India to buy 2 million doses of Covishield, the AstraZeneca type vaccine, at $4 per dose. The Serum Institute, however, expressed its inability to supply the remaining doses of the vaccine after a delivery of 1 million doses.

Compared to $4 per dose, the Chinese vaccine is very expensive, but many say more than the price, the non-disclosure agreement is a concern.