Expert committee approves Pfizer, Moderna as second jab for Sri Lankans awaiting AstraZeneca
Two members of the committee resign citing personal reasons and workload
COLOMBO – An expert advisory committee has approved the use of Pfizer-BionTech and Moderna COVID-19 jabs as the second dose for over half a million Sri Lankans who have received only one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, even as two of its members resigned citing personal reasons.
State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, Prof Channa Jayasumana, said Sri Lanka has already placed the purchase order and will receive 26,000 doses of Pfizer and one million doses of Moderna within the first week of July.
Ministry Secretary, Dr. Saman Ratnayake, said earlier Monday (28) that the Pfizer consignment is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on July 5.
Another one million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine will also arrive on July 6, while a schedule to acquire the Russian Sputnik V vaccine has also been sent, with a consignment expected to arrive in due course. A date of arrival for Sputnik V has yet to be confirmed.
The two members of the advisory expert committee for COVID-19 vaccines, Arunasalam Pathmeswaran and Neelika Malavige, resigned recently, leading to media speculation about the approval process. The two experts said on Monday, they resigned for personal reasons and an increased workload.
Pathmeswaran, Senior Professor, Department of Public Health Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya said: “I resigned for personal reasons,” while Malavige, Professor in Microbiology at the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, said an overload of work led to her decision to resign.
Pathmeswaran and Malavige had offered their expert opinions on the COVID-19 vaccines currently being rolled out in Sri Lanka.
No statement has been made on new appointments to the committee by the health authorities so far.
In a separate development, the Ministry of Health on Monday said it has introduced a new system to treat asymptomatic COVID-19 patients at home via teleconsultation.
Issuing a statement, the ministry said the decision was taken to prioritize care for people with symptoms and those above the age of 60 who have contracted the virus but added that those being treated at home will be monitored by doctors on a daily basis under the 1390 new Teleconsultation system that has been devised by the health experts.
The system has already been implemented in Kalutara and will next be rolled out in the Western Province, and thereafter other districts in Sri Lanka, it said.
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