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Over 50% of 20-30 group given first dose

04 Oct 2021

BY Buddhika Samaraweera More than half of the population between the ages of 20 and 30 years have obtained the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and nearly 12% of the population in the same age category have obtained both doses, according to the Health Ministry. When contacted by The Morning to inquire about the progress of administering Covid-19 vaccines to people between the ages of 20 and 30 years, Health Ministry Communications Director, Public Health Services Deputy Director General (DDG), and Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Head Dr. Hemantha Herath said: “By 2 October, around 54% of the population between the ages of 20 and 30 years had obtained the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. It is not bad, but we expect it to be around 90-100% in the coming days.” Meanwhile, when questioned as to how many people in the above age group have obtained the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, Dr. Herath noted that only about 12% of them had obtained the second dose. However, he said that it was not something negative since the 12% were those who had been vaccinated under various risk groups before launching the programme to vaccinate all people between the ages of 20 and 30 years. The Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) have recently urged the youth community to obtain the Covid-19 vaccines as soon as possible as the population over the age of 20 years must be vaccinated in order to meet the target of vaccinating about 70% of the total population of the country against Covid-19. There were recent reports that certain youths are reluctant to obtain the Covid-19 vaccines due to certain misconceptions. However, when contacted by The Morning on an earlier occasion, Dr. Herath said that it was essential for those over the age of 20 years to be vaccinated in order to vaccinate a satisfactory proportion of the population of the country against Covid-19. “At a time when there is a huge demand for vaccines, we call on the youths not to wait until a particular type of vaccine comes and to obtain whatever the Covid-19 vaccine that is available to them,” he added.  Meanwhile, addressing a media briefing recently, the SLMA President Dr. Padma Gunaratne stated that if 70% of the population in the country is to be vaccinated against Covid-19, 100% of the population over the age of 20 years should be vaccinated. “If they don’t obtain the vaccine and are infected with Covid-19, those who are immunocompromised in their homes can also be infected. Therefore, we urge the youth community to obtain the vaccines as a responsible group,” she added.  


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