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Covid-19 vaccination programme: 2nd dose rollout indefinitely postponed  

18 Apr 2021

  • Key tech comm. discussion this week    

  • Date of commencement, dose gap to be decided  

  • SPC in limbo over Covishield order arrival date 

  The inoculation of the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca “Covishield” Covid-19 vaccine, scheduled to commence from tomorrow (19), has been postponed until further notice, The Sunday Morning learnt.  It is learnt that as of now, only around 250,000 doses remain available in stock after the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine had been given to over 900,000 Sri Lankans.  As recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine should be administered in two doses, given intramuscularly (0.5 millilitres each) with an interval of 8-12 weeks. Sri Lanka commenced its Covid-19 vaccination programme on 29 January.   When contacted by The Sunday Morning, State Minister of Primary Healthcare, Epidemics, and Covid Disease Control Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle said yesterday (17) that no date has been fixed as of yet to commence the second dose of vaccination.  “Earlier, the Government had fixed dates tentatively. But as of now, no fixed date has been scheduled for the commencement,” she added.  Meanwhile, Ministry of Health Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera has said that a technical committee discussion would be held this week where the commencement date of the rollout of the second dose and the gap to be maintained between the two doses would be discussed.  It is also reported that the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) has said that there has been no date confirmed for the arrival of the next stock of 500,000 Covishield doses that the Government has ordered from the Serum Institute of India.   


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