‘Sri Lanka will likely receive the first batch of a government-approved COVID-19 vaccine within the next three months and plans are underway to vaccinate all citizens free of charge, Chief Epidemiologist Dr Sudath Samaraweera said.
The Pfizer-BionTech vaccine manufactured in the US costs around USD 20 US per dose, while the Oxford-AntraZeneca vaccine costs USD 3 per dose. Sri Lanka has yet to decide which vaccine to get, but chief presidential Lalith Weeratunga told a private TV station yesterday that Sri Lanka will most likely opt for the Oxford-AntraZeneca vaccine.
Sri Lanka joined the (COVAX) facility last year. The country signed part two of the agreement with the WHO last week and is now eligible to receive a limited quantity of the vaccine in the first quarter of 2021.
…frontline workers in health, military and other sectors, people over the age of 60 with non-communicable diseases and select individuals between 50 to 59 years of age that are deemed important to the smooth functioning of the economy will be among 20% of Sri Lankans who will receive a COVID-19 vaccine under COVAX.’
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Image credits: Reuters
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