Sri Lanka received another consignment of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines early this morning (June 09), says State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana.

Ada Derana correspondent said a charter flight carrying 1 million doses of the China-developed jab had touched down at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake at around 5.00 am.

The newly-received jabs are expected to be transported to the central vaccine storage complex at the Ministry of Health. As per official data, Sri Lanka has received a total of 3.1 million Sinopharm vaccines so far since the arrival of the first consignment in late January this year.

Upon the receipt of 1 million Sinopharm vaccines from China on June 06, the national inoculation drive was extended to 12 more districts on Tuesday (June 08): Matale, Nuwara-Eliya, Kegalle, Trincomalee, Hambantota, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Ampara, Batticaloa, Monaragala and Polonnaruwa. Meanwhile, the new Sinopharm vaccine stocks that arrived in Sri Lanka have also enabled the administration of the second dose.

According to the Epidemiology Unit’s progress report on COVID-19 immunization, 1,033,028 people in total have received the first dose of Sinopharm vaccines and 166 have been fully vaccinated with the China-made jab.

-Ada Derana