SL administers over 11mn 1st doses of Covid vax

Over 11 million first dose of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across Sri Lanka till date as a mass program is underway to inoculate all citizens above 30 years of age amid a resurgence in the island nation, the Health Ministry said.

According to the official figures released by the Ministry on Friday, the leading vaccine being administered across the country is the Sinopharm jab from China with 9,246,429 first doses administered and 3,116,114 second doses administered.

The other vaccines are AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sputnik V and Moderna, reports Xinhua news agency.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier on Friday instructed health officials to pay special attention to those aged over 60 years old and those who are suffering from long-term non-communicable diseases during this pandemic to ensure they have received the vaccines.

Last month, the President instructed health officials to complete administering the first dose of vaccines on all those above 30 years old by September amid the rapid spread of Covid-19 likely to be caused by the Delta variant.

Also on Friday, Head of the National Operations Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 General Shavendra Silva announced that authorities have made it mandatory for citizens above the age of 30 years old to carry their vaccination cards when they visit public places from September 15 onwards in a bid to curb the resurgence.


In a statement, Silva, also the country's Army Commander, said the vaccination cards, which should mention the dates of both the jabs, should be shown to officials when citizens visit public places such as supermarkets, restaurants and parks, among others.

Since the onset of the pandemic early last year, Sri Lanka has registered a total of 348,270 confirmed Covid cases and 5,776 deaths.-IANS