A total of 69,266 people received the second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Sri Lanka yesterday.
The Government commenced administering the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday after over 700,000 doses of the vaccine arrived from Japan.
Earlier, the administering of the AstraZeneca vaccine was temporarily suspended after a shortage was reported due to the Indian manufacturer suspending deliveries due to local demand in India.
However, with new stocks arriving from Japan, the Health Ministry said 455, 151 people have received the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of yesterday.
Meanwhile, 8,077,072 people have received the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine, while 1,785,641 have been administered the second dose.
The Sputnik vaccine has been administered as the first dose to 159,081 people, while 14,503 have received the second dose.
The Health Ministry said the Pfizer vaccine has been provided to 201, 495 as the first dose and 192 as the second dose.
The Moderna vaccine has been provided to 714,091 people as the first dose.
Meanwhile, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has praised Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.
“Glad to see that Sri Lanka is on track to fully vaccinate 10% of its population ahead of the Vaccine Equity September target,” he said.
Tedros Ghebreyesus further said “Thanks to the Government and people of Sri Lanka for their efforts, and continued vigilance on proven public health and social measures to suppress the virus.”
According to the Health Ministry, nearly 10 million Sri Lankans have taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (NewsWire)
