President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed the authorities to proceed with the vaccination process today with the second batch of Sinopharm vaccines donated by China, says the President’s Media Division (PMD).
A consignment of the China-manufactured vaccine containing 500,000 doses arrived in Sri Lanka 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.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, taking to his official Twitter account, pledged to ensure a strong vaccination drive for all citizens. He also extended his gratitude to the government of China for the supporting the island nation’s battle against the pandemic.
“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.”
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.
— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) May 26, 2021
Thank you! Government of #China & @ChinaEmbSL for the assistance in our drive against the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/t5MCEQ70an
Meanwhile, the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) has placed a purchase order for another batch of the Sinopharm vaccine. Thereby, 2 million jabs 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.
Sri Lanka has administered the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine to more than 500,000 people in the country so far, according to the Epidemiology Unit’s tally.
