SPC chairman speaks on vaccination costs and discrepancies in rollout

SPC chairman Dr. Prasanna Gunasena says Sri Lanka will have to come up with a mechanism to earn finances or share the burden of finances supposing if the country will have to purchase Covid-19 vaccines next year as well, as it is a “very serious burden” on the economy. 

In an interview with Indeewari Amuwatte on @HydePark, the Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) revealed that thus far Sri Lanka has spent Rs. 29.24 billion for the vaccine that it has purchased. 

“For the additional doses as well as the booster, we have to pay anther Rs. 36.19 billion for the vaccines to come. The total will come to around Rs. 66 billion.” 

“The usual Sri Lankan Budget is around Rs 58 billion. So you can understand the amount the government has to pay,” he said.

He stated that everything for the purpose of vaccination to this year has been secured. “Only thing is we have to remember that supposing if next year also we have to face the same situation.” 

“This is a very serious burden to an economy to spend this much of money just for the vaccines. So we need to think of some mechanism to earn finances or share the burden of finances if we have to continue the problem.”   

Responding to another question, Dr.  Gunasena said that in addition to the vaccines already ordered, they have ordered another 14 million doses to be used to any needy categories for the third dose or booster dose.

“We have secured another 14 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, which is an mRNA-type vaccine which can be given as mix-and-match for any other vaccine given to the population,” he said. 

“We have that reserve coming towards the end of October and November, December.” 

Definitely there won’t be any inadequacy of doses and the regular delivery of the vaccines are also happening at the moment, he added.

“It’s a very solid and regular supply chain of vaccines we are getting.”  

The SPC chairman said he believes the rollout of vaccines has to be adjusted from time to time according to the delivery of vaccines due to various logistic and storage issues. 

He said that sometimes in some areas there is less turnout for vaccinations and that some vaccines will remain, but in certain areas the turnout is high or exceeds expected figures resulting in jabs being over. 

“That kind of discrepancies can popup from time to time, but at the end of the day our total population is 23 million and if we get down concentrating to inoculate 17.5 million of the population, then the total numbers should match. There can’t be any discrepancy.”

“So at the end of the day even though there are discrepancies here and there at the moment, everything will settle towards the end of September and mid-October,” he said.