Features

How can Sri Lanka benefit? Insights & Solutions…

Published

5 years ago

2021/01/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Vaccines against Covid-19:

By Dr LakKumar Fernando.

MD, DCH, MRCP(UK), MRCPCH (UK), FRCP (Lond), FSLCP

Background

It is almost one year since the world started battling the Covid-19 pandemic; there are over 80 million confirmed cases and 1.8 million deaths. WHO estimates that 10% of the world’s 7.8 billion population is already infected with Covid-19, and if that is the case the true case number is ten times higher. However, we are still without a proper treatment that can cure all the patients. Sri Lanka has recorded more than 200 Covid deaths and 40,000 cases by now. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with the positive news that several vaccines are getting lined up, shaping to end the pandemic before the end of 2021.

Vaccines have become the best solution against nearly all the important infections that threatened the human existence and Covid-19 is the most recent threat that demanded the biggest ever ‘vaccine solution’ in the history of mankind.

Normally, a vaccine takes 5-15 years of serious medical research before it is delivered for licensing and marketing. However, with all the tools ready with several vaccine makers to bring in a vaccine for similar infections, the race for Covid-19 vaccine became fast and efficient and researchers worked round the clock to fast track the solutions. The result is vaccinations against Covid-19 have started in several parts of the world already, even before the end of 2020.

With WHO declaring Covid-19 a global pandemic, close to 200 vaccine developers started research with huge investments and after completing pre-clinical animal studies, 44 vaccine candidates are currently in phase 1, 21 in phase 2, 18 are in phase 3. Five vaccines have approvals for limited use and three have emergency approval for full use., The fourth was approved on the 30th which can be a turning point with regard to cost and storage temperature of vaccines. About 85 vaccines are still in animal testing and just one vaccine was abandoned after the trials. Most Covid vaccines need two doses for complete immunity. However, trials have also shown significant immunity protection (70%) after a few weeks of the first dose itself. As a result, now the UK government is going to delay the second dose to 12 weeks instead of threeweeks so that more people could be vaccinated with the first dose protecting many while giving manufacturer more time to produce more doses.

Pfizer BioNTech’s BNT162b2 is the first vaccine against Covid-19 that got approval in most countries, that included the USA, Canada, the UK, and EU with more being added to the list almost daily. Moderna was the next that got approved in the USA and Canada. The Russian manufacturer Gamaley’s Sputnik V vaccine is in early use in Russia and it’s also approved in Belarus and Argentina. The Chinese vaccine Sinopharm Beijing is approved in the UAE and Bahrain and there is limited use in China too. CanSino and Sinovac are two other Chinese vaccines that are in limited use in China already.

The British-Swiss Oxford University combined Astra-Zeneca (AZ) vaccine AZD1222 which also has its biggest manufacturing site in the Serum Institute of our neighbouring India just got approval from the UK regulatory authority MHRA (Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority) and its possibly going to be the cheapest with cost being as low as two USD per dose with the storage capability of being within on 2-8 centigrade under normal refrigeration. Serum Institute also has over 50 million doses ready for dispatch after approval. AZ with about 30 manufacturing sites has the capacity to produce bigger quantities of the vaccine than most others.

Another Indian vaccine by Bharat Biotech is also in Phase 3 and will complete trials early next year.

With all these vaccines getting lined up and with more than a couple of million people in the world getting their doses already, Sri Lanka too should move fast to get the best use of the opportunity.

HOW CAN SRI LANKA GET THE VACCINE?

There is a group called COVAX set up with WHO’s help with funding from rich countries organized to give access for Covid-19 vaccines to populations in over 90 poorer countries. Covax has already ordered 2 billion of Covid vaccines from different manufacturers and they have already secured 1 billion doses from this order. It has agreed to give Sri Lanka too vaccines for 4.1 million or 20% of our population free.

No Covid vaccine is still intended for the under 16 age group as the trials were in populations older than this age limit. Fortunately, in this younger age group Covid has so far remained largely an asymptomatic disease with minimal deaths or need for hospitalisation.

WHEN CAN SRI LANKA GET THE VACCINE?

If we get ready with all logistical requirements, and communicate with COVAX and WHO efficiently and professionally, we can start having it from as early as next February itself but how many doses we can have and over what period of time will depend on many factors which also include the degree of our local effort and commitment.

WHOM SHOULD WE

VACCINATE FIRST?

We will have to have a priority order which should include our elderly population and those with co-existing illnesses like diabetes, heart and kidney disease and other chronic illnesses as well as the healthcare workers (HCW) and security forces involved in Covid control activities who are high risk groups to contact the disease.

Vaccinating healthcare workers are important for several reasons and they include…

1. We cannot afford to lose HCW having to isolate them or quarantine them with infection or exposure as they are needed in numbers to look after the Covid cases and other patients

2. Due to the fear of contacting Covid there is breakdown in the necessary routine medical and surgical care for patients in most healthcare institutions at present and this is responsible for most parallel deaths and morbidity even in non-Covid patients. Some of the Covid deaths specially home deaths are also a result of the malfunctioning of routine standard follow up and care for those with co-morbidities.

3. If the case numbers increase HCW will need more PPE for everyday use and we will not be able to face it if the situation escalate further.

WHAT ABOUT VACCINATING THE OTHERS? CAN WE AFFORD IT?

When it comes to immunisation coverage for routine vaccines, Sri Lanka is outstanding in the world where our strong public health set up and the infrastructure has beaten even many developed countries.

Our vaccination acceptance rates are remarkably high with the literacy rates and public health network, mass vaccination is nothing new to our setup. Being an island with secure borders and the limited population of only 21 million compared to eg. India’s 1.3 billion, we are a country where vaccinating the entire population is a realistic feasible option if you can find the money and the doses to cover the entire population. With about 25% (6 million) below 16 years of age, where there is no vaccine for this age group, we need vaccines only for less than 15 million people. Our over 65 population in the country is just about 10% (2 million). We will get at least 4 million doses free from COVAX. We must spend money only for 11 million doses.

If we buy at 2 USD per dose, (Indonesia is possibly getting the AZ vaccine from serum institute for USD 1.64 per dose) we will need less than Rs. 5-8 billion to buy the vaccine and there will be a little more logistical cost. This will also be over many months. Sri Lanka has already spent close to 10 billion rupees on PCR testing alone since March and compared to that the vaccine expenditure is a remarkably worthwhile investment. It is also not essential that we give the vaccine free to everybody.

With good motivation and awareness campaign there will be many who will not mind paying for their vaccine which can be as little as 500-800 rupees for both doses. We can start a public campaign to raise funding for the vaccine without overburdening the Treasury and if handled properly this can have an excellent response. We have 1.8 million Samurdhi recipients and it is believed that only about 1 million of them are in the extremely poor category. In this country we can also easily find over 1 million people who will not mind sponsoring a vaccine for someone else who is poor and cannot afford it. This is a time we have to get-together to face this pandemic.

No one should try to take political advantage of the situation. Together we can end up a proud nation that has vaccinated all its people ahead of many other countries. It is also essential that we strengthen the vaccination system by allowing the private sector too, to be very much a part of the vaccination program. This not only ease the burden to the government, it will also help to reduce unwanted unrest among people.

It is also worth noting that many rich countries have already placed orders far in excess of their true requirement. For example, UK has placed orders for 350 million doses though they need only 120 million doses for its less than 60 million eligible population. There are many examples like Canada pre-ordering almost 9 doses per person very much more than they need and countries needing more doses can take advantage of these situations, by being proactive. Its unlikely that the cost of the vaccines will go up or the availability of doses will become a huge issue. With time most will be solved. Already 18 vaccines are in phase 3, and they too will be competing in the market soon. The early successors have no room for monopoly and when vaccines like by Johnson & Johnson which is single dose also come into the market the competition will be even more. Serum Institute in India can produce 2 billion doses of AZ vaccine in 2021 and the Russian Gamaleya can produce 500 million more doses to be used outside Russia. WHO and NMRA will do the regulatory evaluations for each vaccine fast. However, if we do not actively look for avenues, we will be end up at the back end of waiting list.

With above explained feasibility and reality, Sri Lankan can be one of the first countries in this part of the world to vaccinate its entire population. It is never an impossible task. This will place us in a unique situation, with our ability to fully open the country where factories and tourism and our economy can jump ahead of many others, making Sri Lanka one of the safest countries in the world to travel and to deal with. We being a smaller country with a smaller population, it’s best that we take advantage of our unique circumstances. For the best out come extreme efficiency is a must and we will need top officials with a proven track record handing our vaccine effort.

WHAT ARE THE VACCINES WE CAN BUY OR GET?

With the huge global demand, it is unlikely that any country(possible exception of Singapore and Canada) can vaccinate the entire population with only one type of vaccine. We will have to keep shopping for different vaccines, while the COVAX also will be giving the countries their free quota from different makes. They have already offered as 200,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Sri Lanka last week through a proposal, as they believe, Sri Lanka is an ideal example in this part of the world to successfully execute distribution of an ultra-cold vaccine to a limited population like the healthcare workers. Though -70C appeared not practical at the beginning Pfizer has already found good transport solution where vaccine doses can be taken in a separate storage unit filled with dry ice (liquid carbon dioxide), and there are reputed local logistics companies (eg. Akbar Brothers) that can handle it up to the delivery to the hospital. The Pfizer’s storage units can maintain ultra-cold temperature for 10 days if unopened and can be kept for 30 days if re-filled with dry ice every 5 days. Once taken out of these storage unit the vaccine can be kept in normal refrigerator temperature of 2-8C up to a further 5 days. If we commit to take this free offer, (has to be a firm commitment done fast enough in time) we can vaccinate our HCW front liners incredibly early, and the same Pfizer vaccine can be made available also for the private sector later in the future. Our preparedness to complete our vaccinations using different vaccines for Covid will be the best way to achieve the ‘not-impossible target’ of vaccinating our entire population early.

WHAT ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE AND DURATION OF IMMUNITY? WHAT ABOUT NEW STRAINS THAT WILL APPEAR?

Any vaccine or drug can have side effects, like allergy in people known for severe allergy. With over millions of vaccinations now completed after recent approval the safety of the approved vaccines appear very good and comparable to the vaccines we have already taken from childhood. This has been systematically tested in phase 2 and 3 of the trials.

About efficacy and long-lasting immunity, we can be only be hopeful as compared to influenza virus that fast mutate, SARS Covid-2 is a relatively stable virus where mutations are slower, and indications are that even the new variant of Covid-19 that emerged in UK and South Africa will still be prevented by the vaccine. There are interesting reports about the survivors of 2002- 2004 SARS epidemic infected by SARS Covid-01 still showing protection against the current Covid-2. If the immunity does not last long a booster will be needed. Initially like children we will have few exclusions for vaccinations like for any new vaccine for eg. pregnancy. Vaccinating a large number will bring in a major change into our lifestyle and take us towards herd immunity. With so many restrictions affecting our day-to-day life the vaccine option is THE best available solution we have now.

In summary we need to use a multi-pronged effort to vaccinate everybody which will be a noticeably big useful investment towards economic development, even more than a health solution. We will have to secure and use

1. The free vaccine we will get from COVAX for 20% of our population

2. Negotiate with various sources, and countries to obtain or buy more doses to cover the balance population.

3. Permit the private sector also to import, distribute and vaccinate, with state monitoring to facilitate effective coverage of the population who could afford the vaccine privately.

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Features

From stabilisation to transformation without delay

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

At a symposium on reconciliation organised by the National Peace Council last week, more than 250 religious clergy, civic activists and political representatives from different communities gathered to discuss the country’s future. Speaking at the event, Minister Bimal Rathnayake explained the government’s approach to national reconciliation. He said the government viewed the country’s recovery in terms of a three stage process. The first stage was stabilisation, the second was development and the third was transformation. Reconciliation, he implied, would come in that final stage. The participation of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa at the same symposium, and the constructive nature of his comments, strengthens that hope.

When the present NPP government took office in 2024, the country was emerging from one of the gravest crises in its post Independence history. The economic collapse of 2022 had led to shortages of fuel, food, medicines and electricity. Inflation soared, foreign reserves disappeared and long queues became part of daily life. The political upheaval that followed culminated in the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after mass public protests under the banner of the Aragalaya movement. The country was then governed by a leadership that spoke the language of reform and reconciliation but was widely perceived as lacking a direct popular mandate.

Sri Lanka’s past experience suggests that stabilisation and transformation cannot be treated as entirely separate stages. Postponing reconciliation until some future moment risks repeating the failures of the past. If transformation is endlessly delayed until a supposedly perfect moment arrives, there will always be new crises and new reasons for postponement. Minister Rathnayake’s contention that the government’s immediate priority has necessarily been stabilisation flows from the government’s awareness of the precarious situation the country is. Over the past two years, the government has succeeded to a significant extent in restoring economic and political stability. Inflation has reduced, shortages have ended and public institutions have regained a degree of functionality.

Guaranteed Changes

On the other hand, the country’s development continues to face challenges due to adverse global conditions, including disruptions caused by conflict in the Middle East and extreme weather events that have affected tourism, trade and the cost of living. The danger is that reconciliation may be indefinitely postponed in the name of stabilisation. This danger can be reduced if the government works proactively with the opposition and civil society to commence practical measures of transformation now rather than later. The participation of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa at the symposium, and the constructive nature of his comments, has strengthened the sense that bipartisan engagement on reconciliation may now be possible.

The urgency of transformation came through strongly in the presentations made by representatives of the Sri Lanka Tamil and Malaiyaha Tamil communities. ITAK parliamentarian S.Shritharan spoke of the frustration caused by unresolved post war issues in the north and east. He referred to disputes regarding land occupied during the war years, including controversies linked to Buddhist temples and state sponsored settlement activity in areas claimed by local communities. He also pointed to the continuing large scale presence of the security forces in the north and east nearly two decades after the end of the war. These grievances have remained central to Tamil political discourse since the end of the armed conflict in 2009. Families displaced by war continue to seek the return of ancestral lands. Civil society organisations in the north have repeatedly called for greater civilian control over local administration and a reduction in military involvement in civilian life.

Academic research and practical work on the ground have shown that reconciliation cannot be separated from questions of dignity, equality and justice. Former minister Mano Ganesan, leader of the Democratic People’s Front, focused on the longstanding problems faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community. He spoke passionately about continuing housing shortages, landlessness and economic marginalisation, issues that have persisted since Independence. He also highlighted the devastating impact of recent extreme weather events on estate communities that remain socially and economically vulnerable. The condition of the Malaiyaha Tamil community remains one of the enduring social justice issues in Sri Lanka.

After Independence in 1948, a large proportion of them were denied citizenship and voting rights through legislation that rendered them stateless. Though citizenship rights were eventually restored, the social and economic consequences of exclusion continue to be felt generations later.

Many families still lack secure housing and land ownership despite their immense contribution to the country’s plantation economy. Minister Rathnayake’s responses to both these concerns were politically significant. He argued that recent political developments, including the declining influence of narrow ethnic politics across communities, indicated a major shift in public attitudes. According to him, the political ground has changed in ways that make it increasingly difficult for politicians who rely primarily on ethnic division and communal insecurity to retain public support.

Inter-Connected

There is evidence to support the assessment about the changing political grounding which sees future prospects in the resolution of long standing problems. . The economic collapse of 2022 affected all communities alike and generated a new politics centred on governance, anti corruption, accountability and economic justice. The Aragalaya protests brought together Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in a common demand for political change. Although ethnic grievances have not disappeared, the crisis created space for a broader understanding that the country’s future depends on cooperation rather than division. Opposition Leader Premadasa’s comments at the symposium reflected this changing political climate. He emphasised that national reconciliation could not be separated from economic justice and the need to address disparities between regions and social classes.v He also mentioned the need for civil society organisations to take this message to the community. This wider understanding of reconciliation is important because ethnic inequality and economic inequality have often reinforced each other in Sri Lanka’s history.

Academic studies have identified the denial of citizenship rights after Independence as a historic injustice that set back the Malaiyaha community for decades. The challenge now is to ensure that transformation becomes part of the stabilisation and development process itself. Practical first steps are both possible and necessary. The release of civilian lands still under state control, greater devolution of administrative authority, reduction of military involvement in civilian affairs, language equality in public administration and accelerated housing and land ownership programmes in the plantation sector are all measures that can begin immediately without waiting for a final stage of transformation.

The government’s recent commitment that provincial council elections will finally be held this year is therefore significant. These elections have been repeatedly postponed by successive governments. Holding them would not solve the ethnic conflict by itself. But it would signal a willingness to restore democratic institutions and share power in a meaningful way.

Sri Lanka has repeatedly postponed difficult reforms in the hope that a more convenient political moment would eventually arrive. But opportunities are invariably created and fought for instead of being provided as a gift by a benevolent government.

The present moment, shaped by the economic crisis and public demand for accountable government, offers a rare opportunity to move simultaneously towards stability, development and reconciliation. Provincial council elections can be the first meaningful step. But they must not be the last.

by Jehan Perera

Features

Researchers to shape new environmental policy framework

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Some of the researchers at the meeting

In a significant move aimed at steering Sri Lanka’s environmental governance towards a more science-based and evidence-driven path, the Ministry of Environment has initiated a new collaborative mechanism to integrate leading researchers into national policy formulation and conservation planning.

The initiative was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Dr. Dammika Patabendi at the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday, where top environmental scientists, wildlife experts and researchers were invited to contribute towards what officials described as a “strategic transition” in the country’s environmental management framework.

The discussions focused on strengthening the scientific basis of environmental conservation programmes and national policy decisions while creating a more research-friendly environment for academics and field scientists engaged in biodiversity and ecological studies.

Particular attention was paid to long-standing concerns raised by researchers regarding procedural and operational difficulties encountered when conducting studies in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Forest Department.

Minister Patabendi stressed the need for environmental policies to be guided by credible scientific data rather than ad hoc administrative decisions, ministry sources said.

Among the key proposals discussed was the establishment of a streamlined mechanism that would reduce bureaucratic obstacles faced by researchers in obtaining approvals, accessing field sites and sharing scientific findings with state institutions.

The Minister highlighted the importance of building stronger partnerships between policymakers and the scientific community at a time when Sri Lanka is grappling with escalating environmental challenges including deforestation, biodiversity loss, human-elephant conflict, climate-related disasters and ecosystem degradation.

Environmentalists attending the meeting had also highlighted the urgent necessity of incorporating empirical research into national decision-making processes to ensure long-term ecological sustainability and better resource management.

The meeting brought together several of Sri Lanka’s leading environmental researchers and academics including Rohan Pethiyagoda, Saminda Fernando, Sewwandi Jayakody, Samantha Gunasekara, Dinidu Devapura, Himesh Jayasinghe, Manoj Prasanna, Mendis Wickramasinghe and Suranjan Karunarathna.

Director General of Wildlife Conservation Ranjan Marasinghe also participated in the deliberations.

Officials said the proposed framework is expected to pave the way for a more transparent, data-oriented and scientifically credible environmental governance structure capable of addressing emerging conservation challenges more effectively.

The government expects the new mechanism to support the implementation of practical and scientifically robust programmes aimed at safeguarding Sri Lanka’s ecological future while enhancing cooperation between state agencies and the country’s growing community of environmental researchers.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Back home … for a special occasion

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Seven Notes: Sri Lankans based in Dubai – with Niluk (second from left)

Niluk Uswaththa, of Seven Notes fame, based in Dubai, surprised many when he and his wife Apeksha, turned up in Colombo, last week … unannounced.

Yes, they had a purpose in their surprise visit … to wish Apeksha’s mum for her birthday, which was on Monday, 18th May, and what a surprise it turned out to be!

In an exclusive chit-chat with The Island, Niluk said that the scene in Dubai is improving and Seven Notes do have work coming their way.

Since the members of Seven Notes are all employed (doing day jobs), they operate only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Niluk: Didn’t come prepared to perform, but obliged
friends in Galle

In fact, to get to Colombo for the birthday surprise (on Monday, 18th May), the band had to skip their 17th May, Sunday gig.

“Although it’s a short vacation, my wife and I are enjoying the setup here,” said Niluk, adding that they spent two days in Galle and that their next destination is Anuradhapura.”

Niluk didn’t come prepared to perform, but he obliged the crowd present, at a friend’s birthday celebrations, in Galle, singing and playing guitar.

They are scheduled to leave for their home, in Dubai, in the first week of June.

Seven Notes is an outfit made up of Sri Lankans and the band has been around for almost nine years.

Niluk came into their scene nearly seven years ago.

“When I went to Dubai, I had offers coming my way but it was Seven Notes that impressed me because of their acoustic style.”

The Dubai’s entertainment scene is showing clear signs of bouncing back and even levelling up in the next few months.

Niluk and Apeksha: Enjoying their short vacation

After a slowdown earlier this year due to regional tensions, shows and festivals are back on the calendar, and organisers say late 2026 could be the busiest concert season in years.

Time Out Dubai says “the 2026 concert calendar is filling up nicely” and “the city is ready to party once again” after some reschedules.

Dubai Summer Surprises in July brings retail activations, comedy nights, and indoor art exhibitions.

Organisers point to a backlog of postponed events that are being rescheduled for late 2026 and early 2027.

Yes, Dubai is calm on the surface but on alert. Life is mostly normal in the city, but there’s a “balancing act” as people watch for escalation.