Health Ministry refutes claim on Pfizer jab allocated for VIPs

COLOMBO (News 1st): Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health on Thursday (Jul. 08) refuted the claims that the Pfizer vaccine brought to Sri Lanka will be allocated for VIPs. "As of now, I can responsibly state that these vaccines will be distributed based on technical recommendations targetting the most vulnerable groups, which is the most beneficial to the country," Dr. Hemantha Herath, the Deputy Director-General of Health Services told reporters on Thursday (Jul. 08). This was in response to a question raised by a journalist concerning the decision to discontinue the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as the second dose of the AstraZeneca jab; "The general public is of the view that this measure is being taken to use the Pfizer vaccine to inoculate the VIPs since it is globally considered as the best jab against COVID-19?" a journalist pointed out. "First of all, I clearly and specifically reject this claim because the decisions on who will receive the vaccines are reached based only on medical and technical recommendations, as well as the epidemiological threat involved," Dr. Hemantha Herath, strongly refuted the claim at the government press briefing. A decision was reached on Thursday (Jul. 08), to discontinue the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as the second dose for those who had received the AstraZeneca jab as their first jab, the Ministry of Health announced. "Therefore, as per the discussions we have held so far, the vaccine will be allocated for the most vulnerable groups. The Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) will soon announce where and to whom the vaccine will be administered," Dr. Hemantha Herath further elaborated.