COLOMBO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday directed the Health Ministry to administer the Pfizer vaccines on those who had received the AstraZeneca as their first jabs in capital Colombo.
Sri Lanka's Health Ministry received 26,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccines on Monday after the State Pharmaceutical Corporation purchased it from the United States.
The president said out of the total 26,000 doses received, 25,000 doses should be administered as the second jabs for those who received the AstraZeneca as their first doses in capital Colombo.
According to medical officials, Colombo has been one of the worst affected by the spread of the COVID-19 variant.
Following the president's directive, Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake was quoted by local media as saying the vaccine will be administered on Colombo residents between 55 and 69, who obtained the Astrazeneca vaccine as the first dose.
Senanayake said the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) had already inoculated 88 percent of Colombo residents who are 70 years and above with the Astrazeneca vaccine as the second dose.
Senanayake said the CMC will now embark on inoculating those between the ages of 55 and 69 with the Pfizer doses.
Sri Lanka has already had a mass scale vaccination program underway across the country after authorities received Sinopharm vaccines from China. Enditem