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PHIs blame indigenous physicians’ propaganda for booster jab hesitancy

Published

4 years ago

2022/01/28

By Rathindra Kuruwita

It would be difficult to increase the number of people who receive booster shots if the government did not address the growing anti- vaccine sentiments among the people, head of the Public Health Inspectors’ Union (PHIU) Upul Rohana said yesterday.

Rohana said that at the beginning of the pandemic anti-vaccine sentiments had been rare among the people and that the overwhelming majority of the people wanted to get vaccinated.

“People were waiting in queues. People were asking the government to double jab them as fast as possible. Some people demanded to be jabbed with the Pfizer vaccine. Heath officials have done little to counter anti-vaccine propaganda.”

The PHIU head said that even some medical professionals contributed to the anti- vaccine sentiments. A number of indigenous medical practitioners carried out a campaign against vaccination on social media and such campaigns have gained traction over the past months.

“What did we do? Health officials didn’t do much. We didn’t try to counter these sentiments with facts and figures. We have not taken any action against those who disseminate anti- vaccine sentiments. Now, these wrong ideas are firmly rooted among a significant number of people,” he said.

Rohana said that until very recently, health officials had failed to pay adequate attention to the growing anti- vaccine sentiments. Senior health ministry officials believed that the people were not getting vaccinated because there was an issue with vaccine distribution and availability.

“This is why a vaccination week was introduced. The opening hours of vaccination centres were extended and the locations of the centres too were expanded. However, it is now obvious that we did not address the root causes of booster jab hesitance. People are not getting vaccinated because they fear the assumed side effects. A lot of people worry that this will affect their fertility. This is why people are not getting vaccinated and we have not given convincing data or a narrative to prove otherwise,” he said.

On the other hand, people had let their guard down because the government gave the impression that the threat posed by the coronavirus was on its way out, he said. For a long time health officials have not reported the real number of cases, the regulations were relaxed and people were encouraged to go back to the way they were living before the pandemic, the PHIU head said.

“After all that, the government and officials now claim that people have to behave responsibly. Now, the people think that the government is trying to distract them from other issues by playing up the COVID-19 card,” Rohana said.

Although the official COVID numbers were around the 900 a day, now at least 2,500 people contracted Covid-19 daily, he said. During the peak of the Delta wave, health officials were carrying out 25,000 PCR tests a day, however, only 12,000 PCR and rapid antigen tests (RAT) were being done now, Rohana said.

“Out of this, most are RATs, which are not effective unless a patient has a high viral load. What about those who don’t have a high viral loads? They can spread the disease. We need to know the ground realities. That is why we must do testing. We need to do more random testing,” he said.

Rohana said that around 82% of Sri Lankans had had both doses of an anti-COVID vaccine and that was the main reason why the deaths caused by COVID had not gone up. The main role of a vaccine was to reduce the severity of symptoms and to minimise deaths, he said.

“So, World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the world that Omicron can cause deaths and hospitalisation. We really should not take this easy,” Rohana said.

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Financial contribution from Gift Sri Lanka Foundation and the Georgia Buddhist Vihara, USA, for disaster relief

Published

4 mins ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

In support of relief efforts for communities affected by the Ditwah cyclone, Gift Sri Lanka Foundation and the Georgia Buddhist Vihara (GBV), USA, have made a financial contribution of USD 16,000 to the Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund.

The relevant cheque was formally handed over on Thursday (18) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat by the Chief Incumbent of the Georgia Buddhist Vihara, Most Venerable Panamwela Vajirabuddha Nayaka Thero, to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

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European Union provides over Euro 2.35 million Humanitarian Assistance to Sri Lanka

Published

8 mins ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

The European Union has allocated a total of Euro 2.35 million of financial assistance to Sri Lanka. This includes Euro 500,000 through IFRC and Euro 1.85 million through DG-European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) partners, WFP and UNICEF as humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, in response to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Ditwah,

In addition to the above allocation, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which brings together 37 participating States, all 27 EU member States, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine, is providing in-kind assistance to Sri Lanka.

As a part of the UCPM in kind assistance being provided, on Wednesday, 17th December, Sri Lanka received an aid shipment, with two air cargo flights arriving in Colombo from Germany, France and Luxembourg. This aid shipment included 83 tonnes of relief items such as family tents, mattresses, hygiene and kitchen kits, beds and water filters. The supplies are intended for distribution among communities most affected by the cyclone.

The arrival of the assistance was welcomed by the EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Carmen Moreno, French Ambassador, Rémi Lambert, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, Sarah Hasselbarth. On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the donations were received by Sugeeshwara Gunaratna, Director General / Europe & North America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism and Chathura Liyanarachchi, Director, Disaster Management Center (DMC).

Italy has also provided a team of structural engineers to support Sri Lanka’s disaster assessment and recovery process.

Furthermore, the EU has activated its Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) in rapid mapping mode, with around 30 maps produced so far.

The European Union has committed continued cooperation and support to Sri Lanka’s disaster recovery and rebuilding process, reaffirming the enduring friendship and strong partnership between Sri Lanka and the European Union.

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Sajith: Met Dept. officials under virtual house arrest

Published

2 hours ago

2025/12/19

Thilina Walpola

Sajith Premadasa

… hands over proposal asking for PSC probe into govt.’s lapses

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday accused the government of having gagged the Meteorology Department officials, who, he said, had been placed under virtual house arrest. He claimed that they had been barred from speaking to the media.

Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa said withholding information from the public was unacceptable. He insisted that the Meteorology Department and international agencies had repeatedly issued warnings about extreme weather events between November 11 and 26. He demanded to know why Sri Lanka’s disaster management mechanism had not been activated in a timely manner.

“The key issue is why the country’s disaster management system failed to respond when the risks were clearly identified,” he told the House, describing the lapse as a serious failure of governance.

Condemning attempts to silence officials, Premadasa said acknowledging mistakes was the only way forward. “If we are wrong, we should admit it. If we are right, we should say so. Silencing professionals will help solve problems.

The Opposition Leader also called for a National Disaster Response Force and amendments to the Disaster Management Act to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms.

Premadasa and several other Opposition MPs have submitted a formal proposal to the Speaker seeking the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the government’s failure to mitigate the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The Opposition has demanded a 30-member select committee tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the institutional and administrative failures during the disaster.

Describing the government’s lack of preparedness as deeply regrettable, the MPs have said that timely action would have helped save many lives and reduced the scale of destruction caused by the cyclone.

By Saman Indrajith ✍️