Lalith Weeratunga, Senior Advisor to the President has said that Sri Lanka’s National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has given its approval to use Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 and Sri Lanka will receive the Sputnik V vaccine in near future.
He was addressing a special media briefing organized by the Ministry of Mass Media yesterday (10) at the Media Development Center for social media activists.
This media briefing is significant as it is the first program which was held to publicize the development facts and progress of the National Policy Framework “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor”, the Government Information Department said.
Lalith Weeratunga, who has been entrusted with the task of coordinating the importation of the vaccine against the COVID 19 virus in Sri Lanka, mentioned that the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine from the Russian President and accordingly, Sri Lanka will receive the first batch of the said vaccine as a donation.
Weeratunga has reaffirmed that the Sputnik vaccine will be procured pending the necessary approvals to vaccinate every Sri Lankan citizen & specifically the drivers of the economy in such as the tourism, export & apparel industries.
He has emphasized that there are no VIP vaccine centers. Senior citizens are prioritized for the COVAX vaccine obtained from the UNICEF as per UN regulations. For non-senior citizens, the distribution of the vaccine is on first come, first serve basis and no partiality will be shown in its dispensation.
For senior citizens above the age of 60, the government will earmark specific days so as to afford them every convenience in the vaccination process. Transport will be provided wherever needed to facilitate this in greater detail.
The President has also reached out to both Russia & China via diplomatic channels for the purchase of vaccines. The efficacy of each vaccine will be made of paramount importance & only vaccines that have been proven & internationally accepted will be procured, Weeratunga said.
Meanwhile, Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Health asserted that 264,000 vaccines that were received last Sunday under the COVAX facility will be given to individuals aged 60 and above in the high-risk areas of Colombo and Gampaha districts this weekend.
He further added that, according to the world priority list, people aged 60 and above are in the third place, but only 9.1% of those over 60 in Sri Lanka have been infected.
Although the mortality rate of people aged 60 and above in Sri Lanka is high, the age group most prone to contracting the disease and spreading the disease to others is the age group of 30-60 years which contributes directly to the economy of the country. Therefore, considering the said issue, the Secretary to the Ministry of Health said that the next priority was given to the individuals aged 30-60.
Moreover, he said that among those groups, areas with the highest prevalence of the disease were identified in the Colombo and Gampaha districts and more priority was given to the people in those areas. He said that about 743,000 people have already been vaccinated with the first dose, which is more than 4% of the population who should be vaccinated.
The government will provide free transport facilities for the elderly who do not have transport facilities to attend the vaccination program in the relevant areas.
In addition, the Secretary highlighted that the vaccine is given only by the Government and once Sri Lanka receives the Sputnik vaccine, the authorities are expecting to extend the vaccination process to other districts.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
