The first consignment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine purchased by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) arrived in Sri Lanka this morning, State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said.
The SPC has ordered a total of 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine while this is the first delivery of that purchase.
He stated that another 26,000 doses are expected to arrive next week with another 60,000 and 90,000 more expected in the third and fourth weeks of July respectively.
This is also reportedly considered the first time a country in the South Asian region has purchased the Pfizer vaccine which is manufactured in the Unites States.
Porf. Jayasumana stated that necessary steps have been taken to provide these vaccines to the public as soon as possible.
The consignment of vaccine doses have been stored at the specialized storage facility at the National Blood Transfusion Centre in Narahenpita due to the fact that the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored under extreme refrigeration.
