The Health Ministry has amended the purchase order quantity of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for Sri Lanka from 14 million to 6.8 million, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella informed Parliament today.
The Minister said the purchase order made for the vaccine to be imported as the third dose was revised last week.
The revision was made based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the booster vaccine dose.
Despite WHO experts recommending the third dose as a booster shot for people above the age of 65, Sri Lanka has decided to provide it to people above the age of 60.
Along with this age group, the vaccine will also be granted to healthcare workers, and those serving as frontline workers during the pandemic, Minister Rambukwella explained.
He further said that the WHO has so far issued only these recommendations and Sri Lanka is preparing to implement them.
Commenting on COVID-19 vaccine brands, the Health Minister said various opinions are being circulated on social media in this regard.
The WHO has approved certain vaccines and the institution is only deliberating over the vaccination of children between the ages of 12-18.
Apart from this, the WHO has approved nearly16 COVID-19 vaccines and Sri Lanka is using 06 or 07 out of the approved vaccines at present, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.
The Health Minister reiterated that all COVID-19 vaccines used in Sri Lanka are based on the recommendations and approval of the WHO.
Minister Keheliya Rambukwella made the statement in Parliament, in response to a question raised by Opposition MP Buddhika Pathirana. (NewsWire)