Sri Lanka receives 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccines

Staff members unload China's Sinopharm vaccines in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 11, 2021. Sri Lanka's Health Ministry on Sunday received 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccines from China. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua)

COLOMBO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Health Ministry on Sunday received 2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccines from China, leading to a total of 7.1 million Sinopharm doses arriving in the country since March.

The vaccines arrived onboard two Sri Lankan Airlines flights which arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport early Sunday morning.

According to health officials, from these stocks, 100,000 doses each will be dispatched into Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Anuradhapura, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Badulla, and Matale Districts, while 200,000 doses each will be dispatched to Colombo and Kurunegala Districts.

Meanwhile, 300,000 and 500,000 doses will be dispatched to Kalutara and Gampaha Districts respectively.

According to official statistics from the Health Ministry, nearly 3 million people have received the Sinopharm vaccines in Sri Lanka to date, making it the leading vaccine to be administered among the general public.

Out of the nearly 3 million people jabbed, over 1 million have received their second injections as well, Health Ministry statistics showed.

Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said that following the arrival of 2 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccines on Sunday, a further stock of 2 million doses was expected in the coming weeks.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week put forward a comprehensive mechanism to vaccinate a majority of the Sri Lankan population against the COVID-19 virus before September.

The President said the number of vaccines that will be received in the month of July will be made available to the public, giving priority to the districts identified as high-risk areas for the spread of COVID-19.

Sri Lanka is presently facing a third wave of the COVID-19 virus with authorities warning of a spread of the Delta variant.

The country has to date recorded 273,031 patients since the first local patient was detected in March last year, while 3,467 deaths have been reported.