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Persons below the age of 30 will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the month, State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) Chairman Dr. Prasanna Gunasena said yesterday.
According to him, 96% of persons above the age 30 will have received both doses of a vaccine by the first week of September and, regardless of the vaccine type, it will take until at least mid-September to achieve full immunity.
Vaccination of persons below 30 will be carried out simultaneously. Thus, the population of 3.5 million that is below the age of 30 will start receiving their second dose by the end of September.
He added that 30% of persons admitted to a COVID-19 treatment centre are below the age of 30, but Dr. Gunasena stressed that it is very rarely that serious illness or death occurs among this group. According to the Epidemiology Unit, only 1.19% of the total COVID-19 fatalities are below age 30.
The SPC Chairman also assured that vaccine supply is more regular now, with 15,000 Sputnik V second dose products expected this week and 10 million doses of Sinopharm expected by September. In addition to this, Sri Lanka will receive a total of 18 million doses of Pfizer, in weekly batches of 100,000 doses.
The country is also prepared to administer a third dose if required, but Dr. Gunasena said the World Health Organization (WHO) is not yet focusing on this requirement.
“During discussions with the WHO during the past few days, they clearly stated that they were expecting to administer the second dose to only 40% of the population globally by December. The second dose for 70% of the global population is expected to be completed by June 2022,” he explained.
While 96.4% of the population over 30 has received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Sri Lanka, 25.6% have received the second dose as well. At present, persons over 60 or persons with serious illness in the Western Province who are yet to be vaccinated can register for vaccination by calling 1960.
A vaccination drive targeting the above groups will be carried out during the next two days.
“In Colombo alone, 40,000 persons over the age of 60 have refrained from getting vaccinated due to false beliefs,” Dr. Prasanna Gunasena said, adding that it is advisable to get whatever available vaccine as quickly as possible rather than waiting for a particular vaccine.
This is extremely important, given the spread of COVID-19 in the country as well as the world.
“The virus changes its protein twice a month, so if the virus is in the community, even if you do not contract it, new variants emerge,” Dr. Gunasena said. With the spread of the Delta variant in the country, an increase in the number of COVID-19 detections, patients, and deaths can be seen.
“Today we are facing a critical stage of this pandemic of COVID-19. We have over 30,000 patients in hospitals and we get about 2,500 patients a day and we know the Delta variant is spreading fast in the country,” he said.
The SPC Chairman explained that when a virus spreads fast, it can also result in more symptoms in a patient and the risk of pneumonia and other complications.
“The best solution thus far available, according to the WHO fact sheet, is to immunise everyone as quickly as possible. And when it comes to severe disease, they very categorically say that all vaccines are equally effective,” Dr. Gunasena said, adding that immunisation following two weeks after the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine can protect a COVID-19 patient from severe disease and death.
“If you have symptoms, go to a doctor or a hospital as quickly as possible, because if we treat people at the initial stage, they get better,” he said, explaining that it is very difficult to treat patients who only seek medical care when they are experiencing hypoxia or organ failure.
Within the week, all hospitals in Sri Lanka will become COVID-19 treatment centres, he said, adding that persons can thus go to the nearest hospital if they have symptoms.
Despite saying the country is facing a critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, when asked if a lockdown was imminent, Dr. Gunasena said, “I do not think so.”
However, he stressed that safety guidelines should be adhered to regardless of this. (SWA)
