2 August 2021 12:00 am Views - 66
By Yohan Perera
Chief Government Whip Highways Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday called on opposition parties to put aside their differences, ideologies and party politics to extend support the government to make the national vaccination drive a success. Speaking to journalists after a progress review meeting in his ministry, the minister said that the national vaccination drive was progressing fast thanks to guidance of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and due to the dedication of the security force members and health officials. “While the vaccination drive is in progress, we have seen some political parties criticizing it and making unfounded allegations. This is not a political project. Therefore one should not try to score political points. This is a national drive against a virus. There are some who cannot understand this reality. We have seen some alleging that there would be no AstraZeneca vaccines for those who have got the first dose. We have got a consignment of more than 700,000 AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan. Similarly we will complete vaccinating other brands including Sinopharm, Moderna, Sputnik V and Pfizer. The number of vaccines administered daily has increased to a record 500,000. We will continue that efficiency,” the Minister said.
“We act to save the lives of people and ensure all would get their vaccines so that we can open up the country soon. We cannot keep the country locked down and stop the economy from running. We call on the opposition to understand this national urgency and encourage people to get their vaccines rather than getting stage street protests,” he added.