Sri Lanka receives more Sinopharm vaccine

COLOMBO－Sri Lanka's defense authorities on Saturday received 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the People's Liberation Army of China.

The vaccine doses arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport on Saturday morning, with Sri Lankan Defense Secretary-General Kamal Gunaratne receiving them from Wan Dong, defense attache of the Chinese embassy in Colombo.

Speaking to journalists after the handover ceremony, Gunaratne said the service personnel, their families and former service members are expected to receive these vaccines.

"We are so happy that as a result of a request made by the Ministry of Defense of Sri Lanka to the Defense Minister of China, we received 300,000 doses of vaccines for members of the security forces and their family members. This is a timely donation," said Gunaratne, expressing gratitude to China for the timely support.

"Since a greater number of service personnel have been vaccinated as of now, the general public could also be facilitated using the balance."

Recalling the remarkable and long-standing relationship between the two countries, Wan said the Chinese people have never hesitated to extend their support to Sri Lankans in difficult times.

The donation shows the solidarity between the two countries in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

On his Twitter account, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa thanked the PLA for the donation, saying the assistance from China will ensure that the vaccination drive in Sri Lanka will be a success. Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said 2 million more doses of the Sinopharm vaccine had also arrived from China on the same flight.

Sri Lanka has so far received 18 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which is the leading vaccine being administered across the country.

A day earlier, Chile received a new shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac.

According to the Chilean Ministry of Health, this is the 16th shipment of Sinovac doses to arrive in the country since February.

The shipment was received at Santiago International Airport by Health Minister Enrique Paris.

To date, some 84.5 percent of Chile's target population have been fully vaccinated, with more than 89.9 percent of the population receiving at least one dose.

According to the Health Ministry, the target population includes just over 15.2 million people, or 80 percent of Chile's total population.

Xinhua