Vaccine deployment

Cabinet approval has been given to spend $ 52 million on obtaining COVID-19 vaccines for five million people. Overall, with the help of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other countries, the Government appears to have set a target of immunising 14 million people. The bulk of these jabs will need to take place this year for the country to stand a chance of returning to normal, but the vaccine deployment process is far from fixed.  

Despite numerous Government promises that the vaccines would be rolled out with due process, the reality has been the opposite. A website launched for public registrations was inexplicably taken down and has been criticised for being used to unnecessarily gather public data. 

Different health and Government officials have given diverse views to the public. At a macro-level, there appear to be two camps, those who advocate for people over 60 years to be vaccinated first and those who insist that people over 30 should also be given the jab because they are more economically relevant. 

Proponents of the first camp insist that vaccines should be prioritised to save lives and since senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable, they should be at the front of the line. However, backers of the second camp have pushed hard for factory workers and others to be given the vaccine, with the apparel sector even coming forward to fund jabs for their entire industry. 

Not to be outdone, politicians have also pushed for their preferred segments. This has created a free-for-all that has left many people confused and resentful. The chaos must be ironed out before the next shipment of vaccines arrive in the country to ensure full efficacy from the very costly affair of purchasing vaccines with public funds. 

Sri Lanka has the resources to make this happen. There are dozens of best practices and protocols from around the world that Sri Lanka can follow, including from neighbour India. Sri Lanka also has a thriving tech industry and a highly skilled public health sector, which together with a strong communications strategy can cover this small country very easily. Yet, the Government has chosen to undertake the most important immunisation drive in decades, behind closed doors. 

Last week, Sri Lanka sent the purchase order for 10 million vaccines to the Serum Institute, which will be paid for with the Cabinet-approved funds. Therefore, the Government has the responsibility and duty to ensure that these vaccines are used to provide maximum coverage and protection to the Sri Lankan population, not just the rich and powerful. 

This is especially difficult given that Sri Lanka’s public systems are prone to interference and privilege-driven politicisation, but this must be resisted at all cost. Otherwise, not only will the Government lose public confidence, but the virus might not be arrested at the optimum level. 

With so much at stake, the Government must step up. COVID-19 has affected everyone in this country, especially the poor and marginalised. The suffering has been exacerbated by insensitive and petty policies. Therefore, it is only right that a recovery must also be collective with relevant attention paid to inclusivity and equity. Unless everyone emerges from this pandemic together, all of us will continue to suffer.