COVID-19 vaccine only reduces severity of disease - Dr. Susi Perera

• Says symptoms would be mild after vaccination
• It would only reduce fatalities and hospitalization
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women, people below 20 not inoculated

•  SL will use mix of vaccines instead relying on one.
• Once vaccination process completed, spread can be curbed and economic activities normalised
• Health Authorities plan to vaccinate 80% of population

By Kelum Bandara

Inoculation against COVID-19 will only reduce the severity of the disease, and therefore the people who are most at risk will receive the jabs under the mass rollout, an official said.

Deputy Director General-Public Health Services Dr. Susi Perera told a news conference that symptoms would be mild after vaccination, and it would reduce fatalities and hospitalizations as a result.

Dr. Perera said people aged below 20 and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding would not be inoculated because such categories had not been experimented properly in the development phase of these vaccines against the pandemic for emergency use. She said people belonging to these categories accounted for 35% of the population in Sri Lanka. However, she also said the health authorities had planned to vaccinate 80% of the remaining population.