By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 27: The government on Thursday decided to allow clinical trials of two separate vaccines against the coronavirus and cholera in Nepal.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the official residence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Baluwatar Thursday allowed the trials of the vaccines.

After the meeting, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and spokesperson for the government, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, said that the Cabinet had given permission to test the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in Nepal produced by Walvax Biotechnology, Suzhou Biosciences, and the PLA Academy of Military Science in China. However, the trial of the cholera vaccine will be conducted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) of South Korea.

According to Pradeep Gyawali, Executive Chief of the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), the Council of Ministers has given permission to test the Chinese-made Walvax vaccine, which has been given ethical approval by the Council of Ministers.
According to him, the Chinese company will test the vaccine in Nepal in collaboration with Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals.
It is the third-level test of the mRNA vaccine which is also in trial in Mexico. It will be tested on 3,000 people in Nepal.

Similarly, the government has decided to give Rs. 1 million to the family of Jay Singh Dhami of Darchula, who has gone missing in the Mahakali River after an Indian security official unknotted the Tuin by means of which he was crossing the river.
A committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate into the matter has prepared a report of the incident to be submitted to the government. The Ministry had formed a five-member investigation committee under the coordination of Joint Secretary Janardan Gautam to study the incident.

Likewise, the Cabinet meeting appointed former High Court Chief Judge Jageshwar Singh Subedi as the Chairman of the Nepal Law Commission.
The government has endorsed Dr. Shambhuraj Acharya’s name for the post of Regional Director of the World Health Food Organisation of South East Asia as the country’s representative, Spokesperson Karki said.

What’s more, the Cabinet meeting has decided to appoint Pushpa Raman Wagle and Solani Pradhan Singh as members of the National Planning Commission. Also, the Cabinet meeting gave approval to National Planning Commission Vice-chairman Dr. Biswo Nath Poudel to take part in a virtual review meeting of the high-level representatives of the Least Developed Countries from the Asia Pacific Region.