Donated doses lift spirits in Sri Lanka amid second wave

Sri Lankans battling a virulent second wave of the coronavirus pandemic have been buoyed by the arrival of donated supplies of a Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccinations with the shot, from Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm, will begin on Monday, the presidential office said in a statement.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on hand for the arrival of the 600,000 doses at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo on Wednesday.

Rajapaksa spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call on Monday. Xi told him that China will continue to provide as much assistance as its capacity allows for Sri Lanka's fight against COVID-19.

At the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said the donation once again implemented China's commitment to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, and it demonstrated the deep brotherhood between the two countries.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Palitha Kohona thanked the Chinese government and the people of China for the gift.

Doctor Rukie de Alwis, a senior research fellow at SingHealthDuke-NUS in Singapore, said: "China's donation of Sinopharm vaccines that arrived in Sri Lanka will contribute toward Sri Lanka's vaccination efforts."

A report from the country's Epidemiology Unit said 92,917 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed by Thursday, with 517 deaths.

Sri Lanka approved the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use on March 20. The country's vaccination drive was launched in late January with donated doses of vaccines, including one from AstraZeneca, that were made by the Serum Institute of India.

On March 7, Sri Lanka received 264,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot under the COVAX initiative.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Cabinet, Ramesh Pathirana, said the results of phase 4 clinical trials of the Sinopharm vaccine are yet to be published in English. He said this explained why the WHO has not yet recommended its use worldwide.

De Alwis said: "The more pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.135, was recently imported into Sri Lanka. This means that we urgently require a long-term prevention strategy, such as widespread vaccination."

Chief Epidemiologist Sudath Samaraweera said the Sinopharm vaccine will also be made available to Chinese citizens in Sri Lanka.

Health ministry sources said around 9,000 Chinese nationals live in Sri Lanka.