Sri Lanka will receive another four million doses of Sinopharm vaccines, purchased from the Chinese manufacturer in the first week of August, the Sri Lankan Embassy in China said.
This is the largest quantity of vaccine that Sri Lanka has been able to procure in one consignment.
The Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing is currently making arrangements to airfreight the consignment between 04-08 August 2021.
Up to now, including this four million, Sri Lanka has procured 12 Million doses of COVID-19 Sinopharm vaccines from China. The Government of China also gifted 2.7 million doses of vaccine to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is currently in the midst of a large scale vaccination program islandwide.
The total population of the country is about 21,919,000 and the Government of Sri Lanka aims to vaccinate all people over 30 years of age by September.
Out of 11,496,906 people over the age of 30, 68% of people have received the first dose and 16% have received both doses of the vaccine.
Sri Lanka's Ambassador to China, Dr Palitha Kohona expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka will be able to complete the vaccination program soon. He extended his gratitude to the Government of China for supporting Sri Lanka in this difficult fight against COVID-19.
The Ambassador further said that Sri Lanka is open for tourists subject to health restrictions. He expects that more Chinese tourists will visit Sri Lanka in the future.
(Daily Mirror)