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Sunday Apr 28, 2024
Wednesday, 23 February 2022 04:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 58,202 persons on Monday and 78.38% of the population has received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of 20 February, 65.51% of the population had deceived the second vaccine dose, Our World in Data states.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, 16,855,359 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14,091,594 persons have received the second dose as well.
The booster dose has been administered to 6,538,759 persons. This includes 44,489 persons vaccinated on Monday.
On Monday, 3,891 persons received the first dose of Pfizer and 5,072 persons received the second dose of the vaccine. A total of 2,399,057 persons have received the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and 650,269 persons have received the second dose of the vaccine.
The first dose of Sinopharm was administered to 1,604 persons on Monday, raising the total number of persons to have received the first dose of the vaccine to 12,012,760. The second dose of Sinopharm has been administered to 11,079,559 persons, of which 3,146 received the vaccine on Monday.
The first dose of AstraZeneca has been administered to 1,479,631 persons and the second dose has been administered to 1,418,593 persons.
The Epidemiology Unit states that 804,801 persons have received the first dose of Moderna and 787,361 persons have received the second dose of the vaccine.
The first dose of Sputnik V has been administered to 159,110 persons and the second dose has been administered to 155,812 persons.
Health officials have urged students to get their second vaccine dose after completing their advanced level examinations. According to the Epidemiology Unit, 78.2% of the population between 16 and 19 years had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of 20 February.
Meanwhile, State Minister of Pharmaceutical Production, Supply and Regulation Prof. Channa Jayasumana said vaccination of children below 12 years is being considered.
“The Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians has been consulted regarding vaccination of children below 12 years. We expect to receive the relevant recommendations for this within the week,” he said.
The State Minister went on to say that the number of persons vaccinated daily was not sufficient, especially given the spread of the Omicron variant.
“As of last week, 50,000 to 60,000 persons were getting the booster dose every day. This is not sufficient for us as we expect to increase this number to at least 100,000,” Jayasumana said.
He added that no plans have been made to remove guidelines that make wearing a face mask mandatory even if persons are fully vaccinated, but explained that certain measures may be implemented to benefit those who are fully vaccinated.
