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(Adds detail from India foreign ministry)
By Gopal Sharma and Alasdair Pal
KATHMANDU/NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Nepal on Friday
granted approval for AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD vaccine
against the coronavirus, the government said, following a
meeting with neighbouring India, a major manufacturer of the
shot.
"Conditional permission has been granted for emergency use
authorization of COVISHIELD vaccine against COVID-19 in Nepal,"
the Department of Drug Administration said.
Nepal has reported 266,816 cases and 1,948 deaths from
COVID-19, according to official data.
The announcement follows a meeting between India's foreign
minister S. Jaishankar and his Nepali counterpart Pradeep Kumar
Gyawali on Friday where "close cooperation" on the pandemic was
discussed, according to a statement by India's foreign ministry.
The statement added that Nepal requested that India supply
the Himalayan nation with vaccines, without providing further
details.
India, one of the world's leading drugmakers, has already
begun the manufacture of AstraZeneca's vaccine, as well as
COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech International with a
state-run institute.
It begins its own vaccination drive on Saturday.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu and Alasdair Pal in New
Delhi; Editing by Jan Harvey and Louise Heavens)
