Sri Lanka receives 500,000 Sinopharm COVID jabs from China

The government of China, in keeping with efforts to support the battle against COVID-19, has donated the second batch of Sinopharm vaccines to Sri Lanka.

Thereby, as many as 500,000 doses of the China-manufactured vaccine arrived in the country today (May 26).

SriLankan Airlines flight UL-869 carrying the stock of vaccines had departed from Beijing on Tuesday and touched down at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake early this morning.

Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka officially handed over the vaccine consignment to Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi at the BIA.

State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana, who joined the event, stated that the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) has placed a purchase order for another batch of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Accordingly, 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka within the 2nd week of June.

In March, Sri Lanka received 600,000 Sinopharm jabs as a part of a donation by the Chinese government to the island nation.

I will ensure a strong vaccination drive for all & in addition to the 600K doses of #Sinopharm vaccines donated previously, another 500,000 doses arrived to #BIA this morning.
Thank you! Government of #China & @ChinaEmbSL for the assistance in our drive against the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/t5MCEQ70an

— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) May 26, 2021