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Pfizer as 2nd dose abruptly halted

08 Jul 2021

  • AstraZeneca stock expected within two weeks

  • Health Ministry denies hoarding Pfizer for VIPs

By Pamodi Waravita Although the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) began administering the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday (7) as a second dose for those who had received the first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, the Health Ministry said yesterday (8) morning that this has been suspended with immediate effect. The reason provided by the Ministry for this sudden decision was that it expects sufficient AstraZeneca stocks to arrive in the country by the third week of July through the World Health Organisation (WHO). “It is most suitable to give the second dose from the same vaccine, and it is better than implementing a ‘mix and match’ method of two vaccines for the two doses,” the Health Ministry’s Communications Director, Public Health Services Deputy Director General and Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Head Dr. Hemantha Herath told the media yesterday. Although Dr. Herath did not specify a specific quantity of the expected AstraZeneca doses, he said that those primarily in the Western Province who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be able to obtain the second dose of the same by 19 July. Attempts to contact Dr. Herath for further clarifications regarding the matter proved futile. Responding to questions by the media on whether the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was so that it could be hoarded for use on Very Important Persons (VIPs), Dr. Herath vehemently denied any such plan. “The inoculation plan is only decided by experts on a scientific basis. Right now, I can responsibly say that the Pfizer-BioNTech doses would be given in the manner best needed for the country.” The Epidemiology Unit notes that 2,171 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine were administered on Wednesday while a total of 540,868 people are still awaiting their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was first administered in January 2021.


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