13 May 2021 11:12 pm
Stating that there is no reason to fear a shortage of vaccines, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva today said that each and every eligible individual would receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the right time.
The Head of the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) said that the government was in the process of procuring the necessary stocks of vaccines from foreign countries.
A committee headed by Senior Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga has initiated dialogue with several countries in order to procure the stocks of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is in order to fulfill the requirement for the second dose for a large number of recipients who received the AstraZeneca vaccine since its rollout in March. General Shavendra Silva expressed confidence in the committee’s ability to secure the required vaccines from a different country soon.
Meanwhile efforts are underway for the government to purchase 13 million doses of the Russian made Sputnik V vaccine, according to the NOCPCO Chief. Sri Lanka will soon receive 900,000 doses of this amount over the next few days, he added.
Army Commander General Shavendra Silva also said 900,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine is due to be received by the end of June or early July. He said that only one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is required, adding that the required numbers would be taken into consideration when procuring vaccines.