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Oxford vaccine will benefit low and middle income countries

5 December 2020 10:14 am - 19     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Sri Lankan born Dr. Maheshi Ramasamy, the Principal Investigator for the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine trial, has said that the oxford vaccine which will be available by end of 2020 at a low cost, will benefit low and middle income countries.  

During a webinar with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London Saroja Sirisena Dr. Ramasamy has said that that the Pfizer vaccine will be rolled out across the UK next week.  
“One of the strengths that Sri Lanka has is its high female literacy rate,” Dr Ramasamy had told the High Commissioner.  
“Sri Lanka is very proud that a Sri Lankan is a part of this vaccine trial,” the High Commissioner had told Dr. Ramasamy.   Dr. Ramasamy had also said that she missed Sri Lanka and is eagerly waiting to visit her family back in Sri Lanka once the COVID-19 pandemic  is over.  


Dr. Ramasamy, who has schooled for a very brief period at Visakha Vidyalaya in Colombo (several months) and has done her O/L and A/L at Stafford International School in Colombo, has been living in the UK for 18 years with her husband and two children.   

She is currently a University Lecturer, serving for the NHS Foundation Trust affiliated to the University of Oxford. Accordingly, she serves as the Principal Lecturer at Megan Medical College.  

According to UK media the UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for mass vaccination.  

Britain’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 infection, is safe to be rolled out.  

The first doses are already on their way to the UK, with 800,000 due in the coming days, Pfizer had told media. (Sunil Jayasiri)      


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  Comments - 19

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  • Dr Navaratnam PhD Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:38 AM

    Dr Maheshi Ramasamy is NOT a Scientist but a medical doctor. She like many other doctors carried our “vaccine trials”, that is administering the vaccines discovered by the Brainy Scientists on volunteers to see the effect of the vaccine. The misleading title for such doctors is “ Principal Investigator”, hence people mistakenly think that they are part of the vaccine research and production, they are absolutely not. Their only job is putting “Injections”.

    Selvakumar Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:43 AM

    now in sriblanka under poor country, for medical side, but coronavirus vaccines will be Price different so recover time will be different from the covid - 19 virus???

    Source Wikipedia Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:48 AM

    Of the three vaccine candidates Oxford vaccine was the most popular one in U.K. as it was being invented in UK. Suddenly a few days ago the American Scientists weighed in and announced that the clinical trial data provided by the Oxford vaccine is very unreliable and so they were denying to approve the vaccine in the USA. So Britain could not approve it either, hence Britain went for the Pfizer vaccine.

    Point of order Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:51 AM

    Oh my God, Vaccine Research is totally different from “anybody can do” vaccine trials

    Favourite Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:54 AM

    We will prefer Chinese vaccine as our immune systems work well with Chinese products.

    Michael Ranasinghe Saturday, 05 December 2020 11:06 AM

    Commendable achievement but I wonder if she was in Sri Lanka whether she would have had the opportunity to achieve what she has with political and racial victimisation ..

    Sunil Saturday, 05 December 2020 11:56 AM

    Her Paternal Grand Father was Professor Murugesu Ramasamy, a University Professor who also worked for WHO and FAO, and maternal grandfather is A.D.H Samaranayake, Chief Examiner of Questioned Documents

    Ponnamperuma A J Perera Saturday, 05 December 2020 12:20 PM

    Congratulations! I am happy that Oxford University under your leadership with participation of the private sector has been able to accomplish this task with least delay.

    Thangarasu Natarajan Saturday, 05 December 2020 12:40 PM

    Now we label her as a Sri Lankan because she`s so sucessful.. but we are the people who labelled all tamils as terrorists and put them in a situation to leave the country...

    Kanday Saturday, 05 December 2020 01:08 PM

    We dont want this ineffective (62%), highly problematic, old technology vaccine. Come on govt - get us the good stuff. Pfizer or Moderna.

    guli lingum Saturday, 05 December 2020 01:18 PM

    please send it to Tamil Nadu.. All you Tamils in the UK destroyed SL while claming asylum in the UK. Do something for UK now and don't worry about the country you left behind for easy green.. SL is in right track.. please mind your own business..

    Silva Saturday, 05 December 2020 04:57 PM

    to develop a vaccine with all necessary tests, also on animals, takes between 5 and 8 years. There are no studies about autoimmune illnesses or problems with fertility etc. Its a further test phase on 3rd world countries. If then the russian Sputnik V but never the english/american/german poison.

    Luki de Silva Saturday, 05 December 2020 09:42 PM

    It is true that she was not involved in the development of the vaccine. I don't see the article claims that. What it does say, If you read carefully, is that she is the Principle Investigator of the Oxford trial. This is as important as developing the vaccine. It is this work that feeds into the regulator who decides whether the vaccine is safe and effective for general use. So please refrain from using derogatory terms such "they are ones who put injections", because even the "ones who put injections" are saving lives!

    Mohd Ali Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:11 PM

    Why the UK has signed up to use Pfizer's vaccine and say SL and other poor countries to use theirs?

    CJay Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:32 PM

    Her father is a Tamil and mother is a Sinhalese. I think she’s more Sri Lankan than most of us!

    FF Saturday, 05 December 2020 10:34 PM

    WON...A MIXED BAG OF COMMENTS FROM READERS?

    silva Sunday, 06 December 2020 01:38 AM

    Dr Navaratnam PhD, why are you jealous at her?? lol instead of praising her for life saving effort ?

    silva Sunday, 06 December 2020 01:52 AM

    Luki de Silva , 10/10 Dr Navaratnam PhD is not doctor

    ranjit Sunday, 06 December 2020 05:07 AM

    # Guli because of people like you playing the racist card, SL is backward when compared to the world


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