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Can get COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX; Ministry ready to act once it is released: Health Minister

25 Nov 2020

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said in Parliament today that Sri Lanka can get the COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX; the initiative of the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), WHO and others. Responding to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Minister Wanniarachchi said the country has already joined the COVAX programme and that the vaccine can be distributed among 20 per cent of the country’s population during the first phase. She said the Health Ministry stands ready to act once the COVID-19 vaccine is released as a National Coordination Committee for COVID-19 Vaccine has been established at the Ministry. “Three sub-committees have been set up under the National Committee to identify the people to whom the vaccine should be released first and to coordinate logistics. However, there is no final date on the issuance of a vaccine. Once it is released, we can distribute it successfully through our existing vaccine coordination mechanisms,” she said.


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