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1 m AstraZeneca doses next week

22 Jul 2021

  • Authorities express hope over arrival, despite delays 
  • 2nd Dose recipients to be prioritised 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Approximately one million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are currently being manufactured in Japan and are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka within the course of next week, according to the Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Ministry. Given the unavailability of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, rolling out the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to people above the age of 55 years in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area who received the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as the first dose, began on 7 July 2021.  However, it had been decided to halt the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, effective from 8 July. The National Operations Centre for the Prevention of the Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head Gen. Shavendra Silva said that the decision had been taken as a total of 1.4 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine were expected to arrive in Sri Lanka by the third week of this month (July). However, said stock of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet arrived in the country, and when contacted by The Morning to inquire about this, the Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Ministry Secretary Dr. S.K. Rathnayake said: “Our portion of the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being manufactured in Japan. We hope to receive the stock of vaccines within the coming week.” He further said that the amount of vaccines which would arrive in the country is intended to be used to administer the second dose to people who have received the first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. The Oxford AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, manufactured in India by the Serum Institute, was the first Covid-19 vaccine administered in Sri Lanka in late January of this year. However, since the deadly second wave of the pandemic in India and the Indian Government subsequently choosing to retain vaccines for domestic use, the Sri Lankan Government has been struggling to find sufficient vaccines for the second dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine. About 600,000 persons who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine in the country are yet to be given their second dose.  


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