27 March 2021 09:01 am Views - 3319
Sri Lanka will receive 600,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccinations on March 31 and priority will be given for Sri Lankan citizens when administering the vaccines while only 1 percent of the total amount to be delivered will be for Chinese nationals residing here, an official from the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said.
The Embassy official told the Daily Mirror that the vaccines were a donation to the Sri Lankan government from China and it was the Sri Lankan government who offered the vaccines to the Chinese nationals residing in the country.
China's Sinopharm vaccine is produced by the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) – a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation. Clinical trials run by the Sinopharm showed that it had an efficacy rate of 79 percent.
However the Sinopharm has run into controversy in the country after State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana said recently that it had received approval for emergency use by the NMRA.
However this approval is yet to be officially conveyed to the State Pharmaceutical Corporation who is the main institution placing orders with countries to purchase the vaccines.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)