Over 1,000 Sri Lankan students flying abroad have registered for Pfizer jab: Army Commander

As of Friday (9), 1,130 Sri Lankans expecting to go abroad for studies have registered for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Army Commander Gen Shavendra Silva said.

An unspecified number of fisherfolk in Mannar and other targeted groups in the area who are thought to interact with Indian fishermen will also receive the US manufactured vaccine, Gen Silva told the privately-owned Derana network.

Sri Lanka imported 26,000 doses of Pfizer Tuesday to be administered as the second dose for western province residents who had received just one dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Pfizer rollout was temporarily suspended Thursday following a confirmation that more AstraZeneca will arrive in July.

According to Deputy Director of Health Services Dr Hemantha Herath, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that over one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Sri Lanka by July 19 through the WHO co-led COVAX facility. An exact number has yet to be specified.

Sri Lanka launched a separate vaccine drive on July 2 for students flying abroad for higher education. Students leaving for countries that request vaccination before arrival are given the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, while students travelling to  countries that require Pfizer will now get the Pfizer jab.

“We gave the vaccine to some of them on Thursday (8) and the remaining will be vaccinated Friday,” Silva told Derana.

“We have 2,315 students who have registered to get the Sinopharm vaccine as well. Sinopharm will be given to both students and people going abroad for jobs,” he added.

Students planning to go abroad and need to be vaccinated are requested to register at https://alt.army.lk/covid19.

State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Channa Jayasumana in an earlier report said Sri Lanka will get another 28,000 doses of Pfizer next week, 60,000 doses in the third week and 90,000 in the fourth week of July. (ECONOMYNEXT)