Aboriginal leader Uruwarige Wannila Aththo received the COVID-19 vaccination today.
He became the first among the indigenous population known as ‘Veddahs’ to obtain the vaccine.
A group of indigenous people, along with their leader, received the vaccine during a vaccination drive that was organized at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy this morning.
They were vaccinated in order to enable them to participate in the inauguration rituals of the annual Esala Perahera which is conducted in Kandy in August.
Other participants of the annual perahera were also vaccinated to ensure their safety and as a precautionary measure ahead of the event.
According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry, 925,242 people have received the 1st dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, while 375, 784 people have obtained the 2nd jab.
A total of 1,657, 741 people have been inoculated with the 1st dose of the Sinopharm vaccine, and nearly 605, 116 people have received the 2nd dose.
The Epidemiology Unit said 114, 795 people have received the 1st dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, while 14,425 people have received the 2nd jab. (NewsWire)