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Huge demand for vaccine from frontliners

03 Feb 2021

  • Health Ministry struggling to cater to requests

  A sharp rise in demand for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine has been observed among frontline workers and non-healthcare workers partaking in Covid-19 prevention measures, The Morning learnt. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (2), Ministry of Health Epidemiology Unit consultant epidemiologist Dr. Deepa Gamage said the Ministry is facing difficulties in catering to the high demand among health workers who are to be vaccinated against Covid-19. “We have an increased demand for the vaccine from health workers who work for various institutes including universities and a demand from frontline workers who are helping in the prevention and control of Covid-19. We have difficulties in catering to this demand,” Dr. Gamage said. According to Dr. Gamage, this is because the vaccine is being administered to more than 95,000 frontline workers and therefore the quality, safety, and efficacy of it has been proven. The first phase of the vaccination drive will continue till the end of this week while the second round of vaccination is expected to start in one month’s time, she added. However, speaking to The Morning on Monday (1), Sri Lanka Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists (SlagMLT) President Ravi Kumudesh claimed that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine showed complications after being administered to healthcare workers. “After the first dose of vaccination, the receivers have shown symptoms such as fever, headache, and vomiting,” Kumudesh said. According to Kumudesh, 80% of vaccine receivers in the healthcare sector have shown these symptoms, but he confirmed that it is not a snag situation. “Covid-19 vaccines help our bodies to develop immunity to the virus that causes Covid-19 without us having to get the illness. We need to be conscious about these alien vaccines developed in less than a year. Vaccines are generally said to take seven to 10 years to be developed,” he added. Kumudesh also said that wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing still remains important as there is a possibility of spreading the virus even after being vaccinated. When asked about the claims made by Kumudesh regarding vaccination complications, Secretary to the Ministry of Primary Healthcare, Epidemics, and Covid Disease Control Dr. Amal Harsha De Silva confirmed that the vaccine does not show any serious complications and that it is normal to have fever after the first dose of vaccination. “Fever means the vaccine is reacting inside the body, which is a good sign. It means the vaccine works. Some of these unions want to destroy these vaccination efforts, and this is the reason they are making these allegations,” he said. Also speaking to The Morning on Monday, Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Dr. Padma Gunaratne said it is normal to have certain reactions after vaccination and that the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, the vaccine that was administered in Sri Lanka, has less side effects. “There may be redness, swelling, or pain around the injection site that may last for at least 24 to 48 hours. Fatigue, fever, headache, and aching limbs are also not uncommon in the first three days after vaccination. These normal vaccine reactions are usually mild and subside after a few days,” Dr. Gunaratne assured. Dr. Gunaratne stated that serious allergic reactions like anaphylaxis were not observed after vaccination and claimed that this is a good sign, adding that there is no reason to fear the vaccine. The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine has been administered at 100 hospitals across all 25 districts in the island since last Friday (28 January). Frontline healthcare workers as well as personnel of the tri-forces received the jab in this initial phase of vaccinating Sri Lankans against Covid-19. Sri Lanka began administering the vaccine after receiving 500,000 doses as a donation from the Indian Government.


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