News

Lanka lucky to get substantial supplies of Sinopharm, but we are paying for following failed playbook of US, UK – Dr. Rannan-Eliya

Published

5 years ago

2021/09/18

Given that Sri Lanka has access to substantial supplies of Sinopharm vaccine, Sinovac is not a good choice any longer, since Sinopharm is much better in terms of immune protection, Executive Director of the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya says.

Dr. Eliya said that if Sri Lanka had actually stuck to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official strategy of preventing and stopping outbreaks, then Sinovac might have had a role, since even a partially effective vaccine can help in reducing the cost of maintaining a COVID- free country. He added that “this essentially what China is doing right now”.

“China doesn’t need the best vaccines, just vaccines good enough to slow transmission enough to allow other control measures to beat the virus, without putting the whole country in lockdown. But we are not China. We have followed the failed playbook that the UK and the USA adopted. So we have widespread transmission in the community and literally thousands of deaths each month. So for us, buying and deploying Sinopharm, topped up with Moderna, Pfizer and Sputnik seems to be best strategy for now, with the exact mix depending on what is available quickly in quantity. Moreover, given that thousands are dying and will continue to die until the virus slows down by infecting enough people, speed and quantity are the biggest considerations, and no longer cost, since we have already made the decision to go for broke…and I mean that literally!,” he said.

Given below are excerpts of his statement: “I was asked the other day for my thoughts on the local approval and use of Sinovac, so just sharing my general take on this. Sinovac was given an emergency use license (EUL) by our NMRA on 16 July 2021, six weeks after WHO had given its EUL (1 Jun 2021). We have since not purchased it as far as I know and certainly not used it, so why?

“SHOULD SINOVAC BE APPROVED FOR EMERGENCY USE DURING THIS ONGOING COVID PANDEMIC?

“The answer to that is fairly simply – YES. This basically boils down to two considerations: (1) Does it work? (2) Is it safe enough for emergency use, given the limited evidence that any vaccine will have in an emergency scenario? This is the decision that WHO came to (and they are really slow when it comes to non-US/UK/EU vaccines), and the same decision that robust regulatory authorities in places like Hong Kong, Chile came to months before WHO. Given that and given the reality that we faced of tight global supplies of COVID vaccines, our local NMRA approval was in fact if anything rather slow. The second question is whether we should use or purchase it.

“SHOULD SINOVAC BE USED IN OUR SRI LANKAN COVID VACCINATION STRATEGY?

“The question of whether Sinovac should be used in our national COVID vaccination strategy is a completely separate one, and not one that NMRA should or could decide. This separate decision needs to be based on the overall public health strategy, plus COST and AVAILABILITY considerations. The bottom line here is that the answer depends on what our alternatives are, and how desperate we are to boost population immunity.

“There are three things to know about Sinovac. First, it is not as effective in stopping severe illness and also in stopping transmission as Sinopharm or Astra-Zeneca, and much less effective than the mRNA vaccines, like Pfizer and Moderna. Second, it is much more available to developing countries than Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, because Sinovac is being produced in the billions of doses and most Western countries aren’t buying it. Third, although Sinopharm is a better vaccine, Sinovac was available in bulk outside China much earlier, because Sinovac, a commercial firm, was much faster in getting approvals than the more lethargic, state-run Sinopharm.

“So Sinovac has been put to use in many countries, including in Europe and also some OECD countries, such as Chile and Mexico. GAVI has also signed agreements to purchase Sinovac for global distribution through the COVAX programme. For practical reasons. Sinovac and also Sinopharm are the only vaccines that are available in sufficient bulk to allow COVAX to deliver on its commitments to developing countries, so COVAX desperately needs both Sinovac and Sinopharm. So there is a rational case for purchasing Sinovac in bulk in many countries, and even Western-dominated entities like GAVI have come to this conclusion.

“However, for us in Sri Lanka, where we appear to now have substantial supplies of mostly Sinopharm vaccines, Sinovac is not a good choice any longer, since Sinopharm is much better in terms of immune protection. This means that with continuing widespread transmission (since contrary to President’s Official COVID Strategy, our real strategy has been for months to live and die! with the virus), Sinovac will require boosters earlier, and it will thus end up being more costly.”

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Maldivian President plants a sapling to mark 60 years of Sri Lanka–Maldives Diplomatic Relations

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a State Visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, planted a sapling this afternoon (04) at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Upon arrival at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Children lined both sides of the pathway holding the national flags of the two countries and paid tribute to the visiting Maldivian President.

Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Speaker Rizvi Salih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath and the Mayor of Colombo, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, along with several other dignitaries.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

News

Sri Lanka and Maldives strengthen ties with productive bilateral talks

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Following the bilateral meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives, who is currently on a State visit to Sri Lanka, official-level bilateral discussions between the delegations of the two countries were held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The discussions commenced after the formal welcome ceremony accorded to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning within the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Extending a warm welcome to the Maldivian President, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his appreciation for accepting the invitation to visit Sri Lanka.

President Dissanayake noted that President Muizzu’s visit, taking place as the two nations mark 61 years of diplomatic relations, reflects the strong partnership, mutual trust and longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The President further expressed confidence that the visit would mark a new phase in bilateral relations.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on ways to further expand and diversify multifaceted cooperation, including economic, cultural and social ties, in a manner that delivers mutual benefits to the people of both countries.

Key areas of focus included tourism promotion, educational cooperation, youth and sports development, challenges faced by both nations in the fisheries sector within the Indian Ocean region, education and vocational training, as well as defence training and broader security cooperation.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena; Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (covering Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Legal Affairs) M. R. K. Lenagala, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassan and Director (South Asia and SAARC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mahesha Jayawardena.

The Maldivian delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, Chief of Staff to the President, Abdulla Fayaz, Principal Secretary to the President on Foreign Relations, Mohamed Naseer; Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka,Masood Imad; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol , Mohamed Shahudy, Deputy Minister at the President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Hassaan and Minister Counsellor at the Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ismail Mamdhooh.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

News

Maldives and Sri Lanka exchange seven MOUs

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), signed across several sectors between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, were formally exchanged this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives.

Marking a new chapter in Maldives–Sri Lanka relations, the MoUs cover cooperation in the fields of health, sports, tourism, education and defence.

Accordingly:

1. MoU on Tourism Cooperation between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

2. MoU on Archiving Cooperation between the Department of National Archives of Sri Lanka and the National Archives of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

3. MoU on Training and Professional Development of Teachers and School Leaders between the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development of the Maldives and the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

4. MoU on Sports and Youth Development Cooperation between the Republic of Maldives and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.

5. MoU on Defence Cooperation between the National Counter Terrorism Centre of the Maldives and the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired).

6. MoU between the Ministry of Defence and National Service of the Maldives and General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara.

7. MoU on Academic Cooperation between the University of Colombo of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Professor Indika Mahesh Karunathilake.

The state visit of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aims to further strengthen economic, cultural and social ties between the two countries, while enhancing their multifaceted partnership.

Cabinet Ministers, government officials and members of the Maldivian delegation, representing both Sri Lanka and the Maldives, were present at the occasion.

[President’s Media Division]