President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued directives to commence the administration of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to students aged 18 - 19 years.

Children who belong to this age group can receive COVID shots at their respective schools starting from October 21 (Thursday).

The President gave these instructions to health and education sector officials during a virtual meeting of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Control held this morning (October 08).

He insisted on conducting the vaccination programme at each school under the supervision of a doctor.

The school-leavers in this age group will accordingly be vaccinated by the medical officers attached to the Health Office in their respective areas.

Commenting on the progress of the national inoculation drive, the officials revealed that 100% of the country’s population above the age of 60 and 98% of the population over the age of 30 have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of now.

The President further instructed the relevant officials to take necessary steps without delay to vaccinate the youths who are in the age group of 20-30.

More than 10,000 children with congenital diseases between the ages of 12 and 19 have been vaccinated so far. The Provincial Directors of Health Services assured that vaccinations for these children will continue at all hospital clinics in the country.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has extended his appreciation to all parties, including the health and security sectors, who contributed to the success of the vaccination drive.