COLOMBO (News 1st); President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed officials to expedite both the import procedures and administering COVID-19 vaccines to the public.

During a discussion held with the COVID-19 Committee on Friday (07), which meets daily at the Presidential Secretariat, the President emphasized that the maximum number of COVID-19 jabs should be given within a short period of time.

It is important to pay special attention to the Western Province, where the virus is spreading rapidly, the President had told the meeting.

The health sector has 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine received from China and the Sinopharm vaccine was successfully administered to more than 55 million people in 51 countries, said the PMD.

The President instructed the officials to hold discussions with the health authorities of those countries to explore the possibility of administering the vaccine expeditiously in Sri Lanka.

The President’s Media Division went on to note that negotiations are already underway to obtain the AstraZeneca vaccine from countries where there is an excess of the vaccine.

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