KATHMANDU- Nepal gave conditional approval on Tuesday for the emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, an official of the drug regulator said, as the country recorded the highest daily increase of infections in four months.

Nepal began is vaccination campaign in January with AstraZeneca vaccines provided by India but suspended it last month following lack of supply.

“Conditional permission has been granted for emergency use authorization of Russia’s Sputnik V in Nepal,” Santosh K.C, a senior official in the Department of Drug Administration, told Reuters.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Peter Graff) ((sanjeev.miglani@thomsonreuters.com; +91 11 49548038; Reuters Messaging: sanjeev.miglani@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))