By Sheain Fernandopulle 

Sri Lanka has completed receiving all the COVID vaccines required, including all the booster vaccine doses, State Pharmaceutical Corporation Chairman Dr Prasanna Gunasena said.
 Publishing a special post on his official Facebook page, Dr Gunasena said it took less than one year for them to complete this gigantic task successfully.

The President entrusted the responsibility on SPC on January 18, 2021 to import all COVID vaccines to this country.  Accordingly, the vaccines brought to the country by the SPC are - 2.8 million (2,865,424) AstraZeneca vaccine doses, 1.5 million Moderna doses, 195,000 Sputnik doses, 26 million Sinopharm doses and 18 million Pfizer doses.

 “Out of the total vaccine doses, we received 6.8 million as aid, mainly from China, Japan, the USA and India while the World Health Organisation also donated vaccine consignments. The cost per vaccine dose ranged from US dollars 5-7.5,” Dr Gunasena underscored.

 Besides, he stated that the majority of vaccines imported are Sinopharm and Pfizer and added the total cost of Pfizer vaccines is paid by a loan from the World Bank, while the Asian Development Bank is bearing the full cost of the Sinopharm vaccine.  Moreover, Dr Gunasena said there had been no unusual adverse events or severe side effects related to vaccines so far reported in the world or in Sri Lanka.