Over 10 mln people receive both doses of Sinopharm in Sri Lanka

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

Over 10 mln people receive both doses of Sinopharm in Sri Lanka

www.xinhuanet.com

COLOMBO, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government, on Saturday said the number of Sri Lankans who had been administered both doses of the Sinopharm vaccine had surpassed the 10 million mark.


State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, Channa Jayasumana said the total number of locals who had been administered both doses of Sinopharm reached 10,028,710 on Friday evening while the vaccination drive was ongoing across the country.


Sri Lanka launched a large-scale vaccination drive in January this year with the Health Ministry saying 67 percent of the total population had received a single dose of a vaccine while 58 percent had been administered both doses.


The vaccines presently being administered across the nation are the AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Moderna and Pfizer.


According to Health Ministry statistics, the Sinopharm vaccine is the leading vaccine being administered across the country, with every district being dispatched the vaccines.


Sri Lanka had since April this year faced a staggering rise in COVID-19 cases due to a rapid spread of the Delta variant with 530,421 people infected since March last year, 13,449 people have died.


Health officials said the number of COVID-19 infections had come down in recent weeks while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had instructed officials to fully vaccinate the targeted population at least by the end of this year. Enditem