Vaccinations commence from 4 Colombo hospitals

• National Hospital, Lady Ridgeway, De Soysa and Castle Street join vaccine drive 
• People within Colombo city limits can also get vaccine via E-channelling  

Four hospitals in Colombo will carry out vaccination and residents of relevant areas will be notified of the hospital they are to visit, health authorities said yesterday.

“For select areas within the Colombo city limits, the vaccination program has commenced in several leading hospitals,” Health Ministry’s Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Unit Head Dr. Hemantha Herath said, stressing that persons should get vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to him, the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, De Soysa Hospital for Women, and the Castle Street Hospital for Women will carry out the vaccination program in addition to already established centres.

In addition to this, persons between the ages 30 and 59 residing in five MOH areas can book an appointment on online channelling platforms to receive the Sinopharm vaccine at specified locations.

The vaccination centres are located in Colombo 13, Borella, Wellawatte, Colombo 10, and Colombo 5.

As of Sunday, 196,546 persons who received the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine and 2,435 Chinese nationals who received the Sinopharm vaccine were fully vaccinated. A total of 925,242 persons have received the first dose of AstraZeneca.

On 8 May, 293 Sri Lankans received the first dose of Sinopharm and on 9 May, 2,876 Sri Lankan received the first dose of Sinopharm.

The Sputnik V vaccine is also being administered in Sri Lanka and the Epidemiology Unit states that 1,000 persons were vaccinated on 7 May, 1,327 persons were vaccinated on 8 May, and 1,385 persons were vaccinated on 9 May. A total of 4,381 persons have received the Sputnik V vaccine.

Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera urged the public to get vaccinated regardless of the type of vaccine they will receive.

“All three types of vaccines provide protection against COVID-19, so we request the public to get the vaccine they are being provided, because the vaccine they receive is the best. Not getting the vaccine at this point can cause problems when vaccines are being administered later on,” Dr. Samaraweera said.

He explained that the vaccination program cannot target one district repeatedly as it must cover all districts of the country.