President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the relevant officials to expedite the COVID-19 vaccine import procedure and the inoculation drive, says the President’s Media Division (PMD).

During a discussion held with the COVID-19 Committee on Friday (May 07), which meets daily at the Presidential Secretariat, the President emphasized that the maximum number of coronavirus jabs should be administered within a short period of time.

It is important to pay special attention to the Western Province, which is largely responsible for the spread of the virus, the President has pointed out.

Sri Lanka began rolling out Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from Thursday (May 06). In the meantime, the country’s health sector has 600,000 Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines received from China. Sinopharm vaccines have been successfully administered to more than 55 million people in 51 countries, the PMD added.

Accordingly, the President has further directed the officials to hold discussions with the health authorities of those countries to explore the possibility of administering the vaccine expeditiously. The second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine is being given to those who received the first shot, he noted.

Negotiations are already underway to obtain vaccines from countries where there is an excess of AstraZeneca vaccine, the PMD continued.

The officials have pointed out that maximum measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus by closing and restricting areas where infected persons have been identified.

Steps have also been taken to maintain the facilities at all hospitals at the required level. The officials said that the support of the people was also essential for the success of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus.