U.S. donates over 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Sri Lanka

The United States has donated over 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Sri Lanka today (August 28).

These vaccines, delivered through COVAX, will help save lives and increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Sri Lanka so essential to ending the pandemic, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said in a press release.

“As the pandemic continues and new variants emerge, it is critical we work together to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Alaina Teplitz, the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. “This donation of FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines comes at no cost and represents the United States’ continuing commitment to the health and prosperity of the Sri Lankan people.”

This vaccine delivery is in addition to over 1.5 million Moderna doses donated by the U.S. to Sri Lanka on July 16.

“As the global leader in public health assistance, the United States has donated $2 billion to the COVAX facility, an international initiative accelerating the research, development, and distribution of safe, effective, and high-quality vaccines to countries around the world.  COVAX has already delivered 209 million vaccines to 138 countries.  The U.S. is its largest single contributor,” the statement read further.

Since the pandemic began, the United States has partnered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, providing over USD 15 million in emergency supplies and critical services, including 200 ventilators. This assistance has reached millions of people in all 25 districts and nine provinces of Sri Lanka to control the spread of COVID-19, address the urgent health needs of the Sri Lankan people, and mitigate the pandemic’s negative economic impacts.

“No nation can act alone in the face of global crisis,” the embassy stressed, adding that the U.S. is leading the international response to the pandemic, not only because it is committed to saving lives and restarting the global economy, but because it’s the right thing to do.  “We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, to combat COVID-19.”