4 April 2021 05:32 pm
Seven board members of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) were removed as the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine was not approved by the NMRA as promptly as expected.
It was also reported that out of the first four board members removed included Dr. Palitha Abhayakoon, the regional representative for the whole Asian region for Covid- 19 to the World Health Organization.
The Sri Lankan representatives of this Sinopharm vaccine have requested approval to administer it to the Sri Lankan population from the NMRA more than two months ago.
However the information needed to be submitted together with the application were not received. No matter how much the impartial expert committee appointed by the NMRA requested these data they were not submitted even to this date. If approval is granted without scrutinizing such required data it will be a detrimental precedent. This will not be the last vaccine to be approved by the NMRA. Any and every vaccine presented for approval must be approved only by adhering to the proper methodology in place for its approval.