It is planned to start giving the second dose to those who have been given the first dose from the first week of May, the Minister said. The Minister was responding to a question raised by the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa under Standing Order 2/27 as to whether the use of the Indian - made AstraZeneca (Covshield) vaccine given to the people of Sri Lanka to control Covid has been suspended. The Minister of Health stated that the successful vaccination program in the country could be hampered by giving undue publicity to the rare allergic conditions that occur during the vaccination program. The Minister said that the public obtains the vaccine given by the health sector with confidence but the public's trust could be damaged by giving undue publicity in this regard. The Minister further stated that complications can be caused not only by the AstraZeneca vaccine but also by any other vaccine. The Minister said that after administering most of the vaccines currently in use, one in a hundred thousand people could develop allergies and very rarely die. The Minister said that the government is implementing a proper program to administer the vaccine and has introduced a 24-hour hotline number 0113415985 to report any complications after receiving the vaccine. "A specialist unit of the Colombo General Hospital is ready for such patients. People are made aware of this before vaccination to detect allergic conditions early. If you have headache, sore throat or chest pain 4 days after the injection, you should seek medical advice. A committee of specialists has also been appointed to identify patients with chronic complications," she said. The Minister further stated that there is no discrepancy between the information released by the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health and the data of laboratory tests. Official information issued by the Epidemiology Division is the official information of the Ministry of Health and is released to the media through the Department of Government Information. The Minister emphasized that these activities are being carried out efficiently and in a short period of time.