Kathmandu, Sept. 30 -- On Tuesday news broke about an agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Nepal's Trinity Pharmaceuticals to import 25 million vials of the Sputnik V vaccines against Covid-19. But the deal is shrouded in mystery because the country's Ministry of Health had no idea about the deal.

At a first glance it could be good news at a time when Nepal is reeling under the pandemic. But it seems no one in the government is aware of the deal. But the fact that announcement of such a massive deal did not come from the government, and doubts about whether the vaccine is safe has raised eyebrows.

What is more, Trinity Pharmaceuticals is not even registered as an importer under Nepal's Department of Drug Manag...