Sri Lanka receives largest COVID-19 vaccine donation from China
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Tuesday (27) received the largest COVID-19 vaccine donation from China, sent via two chartered SriLankan Airlines flights.
Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka in a statement issued on Wednesday (28), said China had also donated syringes to Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry to help the country administer the vaccines.
It said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had extended his sincere appreciation to China for the continuous assistance since the outbreak of the pandemic, and also invited the Chinese government to assist more in the development of the country’s North and East regions, including in agriculture, fisheries, tourism and renewable energy, among others.
This donation will greatly help save more lives in Sri Lanka, strongly support the nationwide vaccination drive and greatly contribute to an early resumption of economic and social normalcy, the statement said.
Congratulating Sri Lanka on leading in the world in vaccination speed, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong praised the convincing scientific research conducted by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura on the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine’s high effectiveness against the Delta variant.
Sri Lanka has to date vaccinated over six million people with Sinopharm being the leading vaccine.
-Xinhua