Sri Lanka will start vaccination of Chinese nationals in the country from Monday thanks to newly arrived Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines, according to the presidential secretariat.
As the island nation in South Asia battles the second pandemic wave that is ravaging stronger and more brutal than the last, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority says that the vaccination of Sri Lankans with the vaccine will begin after a study by a committee of experts.
Sri Lanka received a consignment of 600,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by China on March 31 and was ceremoniously received by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
During his phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 29, both leaders discussed fighting the pandemic together. Xi said China will continue to provide as much assistance as its capacity allows for Sri Lanka's fight against COVID-19.
Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong and State Minister of Production, Supply and
Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Channa Jayasumana signed the documents pertaining to handover of the donated vaccines.
Qi said the delivery echoes the commitment of President Xi of making the Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a global public good. It again declares “that solidarity is the only right way for the international community to defeat the pandemic at an early date and build a global community of health for mankind".
Qi stressed: "It is particularly worth mentioning that the Sri Lanka government has decided to include Chinese nationals in its vaccination plan. In this regard, on behalf of China, I would like to extend our highest appreciation for this most friendly gesture."
Sri Lanka received a consignment of 600,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by China on March 31 and was ceremoniously received by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake
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Also present at the ceremony included Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga, State Minister of Primary Health Services, Pandemics and COVID Prevention Sudarshani Fernandopulle, State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya, Principal Adviser to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof Jayanath Colombage, Health Secretary, Retired Major General Dr Sanjeewa Munasinghe, and Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Major General G.A. Chandrasiri.
“China’s donation of Sinopharm vaccines that arrived in Sri Lanka will contribute toward Sri Lanka’s vaccination efforts,” said Dr Rukie de Alwis, Viral Research & Experimental Medicine Centre at SingHealth/Duke-NUS.
Vaccination efforts in the country are essentially limited by the number of doses that they are able to afford.
“As Sri Lanka is not a rich country, which means that our supply of vaccines have come through donations from India, China and COVAX,” she said.
Chief Epidemiologist Dr Sudath Samaraweera said the administration of Sinopharm jabs to Chinese nationals will commence next week at four locations: Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam and Hambantota. Health ministry data showed around 9,000 Chinese nationals currently live in Sri Lanka.
At a ceremony in Beijing on March 30, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Dr Palitha Kohona also thanked the Chinese government and the people of China for gifting the vaccines. He recalled the historic bonds between the two countries and the support extended to each other, including in the international fora.
The country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases on Jan 29 after India gifted a consignment of Oxford AstraZeneca COVISHIELD vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
The NMRA approved emergency use of Sinopharm vaccine on March 20, the third of its kind after the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. The Cabinet earlier granted approval to purchase 7 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines. On March 7, Sri Lanka received 264,000 doses of the AstraZeneca under the WHO's COVAX facility which is being administered to those above 60.
Earlier co-Cabinet spokesman Dr Ramesh Pathirana noted the phase 4 clinical trial results are currently not available in English, which explains why "the WHO had not given their recommendation to utilize this vaccine universally.
“But the moment we get that approval, we can assuredly utilize this vaccine for Sri Lankan populations as well. So, it is a matter of time until we get the clearance from the World Health Organization," he added.
WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts said later the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are safe and effective after the panel's data reviewing.
COVID-19 initially struck Sri Lanka in 2020 March as the Indian Ocean island nation was just raising its head after the 2019-devastating Easter Sunday bomb blasts.
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Looking back to the enduring year or more, the COVID-19 virus has not only exhausted much of Sri Lanka's health sector resources, but also dealt a severe blow to the island nation's fragile economy.
The country has been battling an island-wide large wave of COVID-19 cases for over six months, with almost 1,000 new cases a day at the peak. Fortunately, due to the strict public health infectious disease controls, since mid-Feb new COVID-19 cases have started to decrease with current new daily cases down to about 100-200.
“But we cannot be complacent as the more pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.135, was recently imported into Sri Lanka,” Dr Rukie de Alwis said. “This means that we urgently require a long-term prevention strategy, such as wide spread vaccination.”
According to the Epidemiology Unit report at night of April 1, a total of 92,917 COVID-19 cases and a total of 517 deaths have been reported in Sri Lanka.
The researcher finds Sri Lanka used a slightly different vaccine strategy than most countries. It is presently in the midst of a mass scale vaccination program as it began vaccinating all those above the age of 30 in the urban Western Province from mid-February, after vaccinating front line workers and health workers with the AstraZeneca doses.
“It will probably take a long time to vaccinate a sufficient proportion of Sri Lanka’s entire population, so while vaccination is slowly ongoing, it is important to not loosen the restrictions and strict public health controls too rapidly,” she advised.
Kelum Shivantha is a freelance journalist for China Daily.