State university medical students to be vaccinated soon: UGC Chairman
Around 6000 medical students, attached to state university medical faculties and the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) who receive clinical training at state hospitals will be given the COVID-19 vaccine, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Sampath Amaratunge said recently.
Prof. Amaratunge said they will be the first group in the higher education sector to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine.
“Medical students who are doing clinical work at hospitals can be considered as frontline workers and are more vulnerable than any of us. Even I declined the vaccine until medical students who work in hospital environments are vaccinated against the virus,” he said.
He said President Rajapaksa intervened in instructing health authorities to prioritise medical students receiving clinical training. By the end of this month vaccination would begin for the medical students, with those in the third and fourth year to be vaccinated first.
“Foreign students who are in state university medical faculties will also receive the vaccine as they are equally exposed, just like their local colleagues,” Prof. Amaratunge said.
According to him vaccinations would take place in the hospitals where they receive training.
“Discussions between the UGC, university and health authorities are underway about vaccinating university students,” he added.
About 200,000 persons, including frontline health care workers, military and police personnel, prisons officers, Colombo Municipal Council workers and politicians had been vaccinated since January 29.
The country received 500,000 Covishield vaccine doses from India under its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative.
(Nadia Fazlulhaq)