Sri Lanka will receive 500,000 vials of the Oxford Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow.
President’s Chief Adviser Lalith Weeratunga said the vaccines will be the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to be obtained by Sri Lanka.
Addressing a special media briefing today, he said the vaccines will arrive on an Air India flight at 11.00 a.m. tomorrow.
The batch of Oxford Astra Zeneca vials are a donation by India to Sri Lanka.
Lalith Weeratunga further said 250,000 front line workers will be the first group to receive the vaccination in Sri Lanka.
He added that they will be vaccinated under a program which will commence on Friday (29).
Following are five key facts revealed during the press briefing on COVID vaccines:
1. Sri Lanka is expected to purchase two to three million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, in the next two days.
2. The Government will provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to all the target groups in the coming 6 to 9 months.
3. Some private sector companies have also expressed willingness to help the Government to vaccinate their employees and bare the financial cost for it.
4. The Government also expects a donation of 300,000 doses of the Chinese manufactured Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in the near future.
5. The COVID-19 vaccinations will not be made mandatory once available in Sri Lanka. (NewsWire)