First batch of Pfizer vaccines flown in

The first batch of 26,000 Pfizer vaccines to shield against COVID-19, which was funded by Sri Lanka as the first country in the South Asian region, arrived this morning, State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) General Manager Dinusha Dassanayake said.

He stated that the country would receive 200,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.

The consignment was brought from the United States via Doha and flown by Qatar Airways, landed at the BIA at 2.15 am.

The vaccines should be stored at a temperature of -70 C (minus 70 degrees Celsius), stored in special freezer facility at the Katunayake Airport Import Cargo Warehouse Complex soon after being unloading and then transported by freezer trucks to Colombo, the SPC General Manager added. (T.K.G. Kapila)

Pix by T.K.G. Kapila