Sri Lanka received over 10 million COVID vaccines so far – State Minister
July 16, 2021 03:54 pm
Following the receipt of the first batch of Moderna vaccine, the total number of COVID-19 jabs received by Sri Lanka to date has exceeded the 10-million milestone, says the State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals.
According to Prof. Channa Jayasumana, the island nation has received 10,098,100 coronavirus shots in total since the arrival of the first consignment in late January this year.
A stock of 1.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine, donated by the United States through the COVAX facility, arrived in Sri Lanka early this morning (July 16).
The COVAX facility is the United Nation’s dose-sharing mechanism to promote equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines across the globe.
Sri Lanka’s vaccination drive is currently rolling out four brands of coronavirus vaccines – Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V.
According to Prof, Jayasumana, the Moderna shots are expected to be administered in the Kandy District.
Speaking further, the state minister said 5.2 million more doses of coronavirus vaccines are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka by the end of July.