The United States has delivered an additional 820,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, increasing the total donation from the American people to 3.4 million jabs.

“The United States supports Sri Lanka’s ongoing efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible,” said U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Martin Kelly.  “Widespread vaccination is vital to ending the pandemic, preventing the emergence of new variants, and rebuilding livelihoods.  With the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, we are doing all that we can to build a world that is safer and more secure against the threat of infectious disease.”

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo noted that, to date, the United States has successfully donated and delivered over 300 million COVID-19 vaccines to more than 100 countries, including Sri Lanka.

“The unprecedented scale, speed, and complexity of this global vaccination effort have provided safe and effective jabs in arms around the world, saving lives and protecting communities.  These donations are part of the Biden Administration’s global effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its devastating social and economic impacts, and build back a world that is better prepared for future outbreaks,” it read further.

In Sri Lanka, the United States has worked closely with the government to respond to the pandemic.  To date, the U.S. has provided over USD 17.9 million in emergency supplies and critical services to Sri Lanka.  This assistance has reached millions of people in Sri Lanka to control the spread of COVID-19, address urgent health needs, and mitigate the pandemic’s negative economic impacts.

The U.S. says it is committed to supporting global efforts for worldwide immunization against COVID-19 to control the pandemic, slow the emergence of new variants, and keep people safe and healthy.  These doses are delivered in coordination with COVAX, in partnership with Sri Lankan government, to build back a better world.

Meanwhile, another consignment of 842,400 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines purchased by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) arrived in Sri Lanka this morning (December 20).

The vaccine shipment, delivered by a cargo flight belonging to the Emirates airline, was subsequently moved to the central vaccine storage complex in Colombo.