Courtesy Adaderana

Sinovac, China’s other front-runner COVID-19 vaccine, will be manufactured in Sri Lanka, says State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana.

Developed by Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company ‘Sinovac’, the vaccine is officially named CoronaVac. It uses inactivated viral particles to create an immune response.

The Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka has confirmed that the government of China will sponsor the process, the State Minister said further. Several rounds of discussions we have held in this regard have been fruitful. We expect to manufacture the Sinovac vaccine in our country within the next two months, as a joint venture between the Sri Lankan and Chinese governments.”

Prof. Jayasumana said preliminary preparations on the process are currently under way at a factory in Kundasale.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka today (May 26) received the second batch of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine donated by the government of China. SriLankan Airlines flight UL-869 carrying 500,000 doses of vaccines had departed from Beijing on Tuesday and touched down at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake early this morning.

The Chinese Ambassador officially handed over the vaccine consignment to Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi at the BIA.

State Minister Jayasumana, who joined the event, revealed that Sri Lanka is expecting 2 million more Sinopharm jabs within the next month as part of a purchase order placed by the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC).