By Aasha Shah, Kathmandu, May 27: A total of 239,000 people have received the second jab of COVID-19 vaccine in the government's drive to administer the 'Vero Cell' vaccine donated by China, which had kicked off from May 16.

Dr. Jhalak Sharma Gautam, chief of the national immunisation programme under the Department of Health Services, said, "The second dose of Vero Cell vaccines were administered to 239,000 people in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk from May 16 to May 25."

He said that the government had targeted to provide the second dose of Vero Cell to 289,417, however, only 82.7 people of the target got vaccinated.

Of those who received the second jab, 943 received it in Rasuwa, 170 in Sindhupalchowk, 1,786 in Nuwakot, 150,678 in Kathmandu, 36,871 in Bhaktapur, 43,719 in Lalitpur, and 5,096 in Kavrepalanchowk.

"People aged from 18 to 59 years received the vaccine in the nation's second dose vaccination drive," said Dr. Gautam.

The government of China had provided 800,000 doses of Vero Cell vaccines, which recently got approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for emergency use, to Nepal under grant assistance.

Moreover, Dr. Gautam said that the second dose vaccination campaign of the Covishield vaccine brought from India began on Wednesday, May 26.

"The second dose of Covishiled is being provided in all 77 districts on a priority basis," he said.

The government had begun the first phase national inoculation drive against COVID-19 from January 27 by vaccinating frontline health workers with Covishield, which was provided by India under grant assistance.