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Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine granted emergency use approval in Sri Lanka
22 Jan, 2021
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA)? has granted approval for the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for Covoid-19 in Sri Lanka.
State Minister Dr. Channa Jayasumana said the vaccine is expected to reach Sri Lanka soon.
He said that this was the first time the NMRA has approved a COVID-19 vaccine.
The State Minister said that the NMRA has received applications seeking approval for other COVID-19 vaccines as well.
Unlike Pfizer’s jab – which has to be kept at an extremely cold temperature (-70C) – the Oxford vaccine can be stored in a normal fridge. This makes it much easier to distribute.
Sri Lanka is likely to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India.
India’s drug regulator had given the green light to Covishield (the local name for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK) and Covaxin, locally-made by pharma company Bharat Biotech.
India has already shipped tens of thousands of free doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to neighbouring countries in what is being widely described as “vaccine diplomacy”.?(Colombo Gazette)
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