China to donate 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Sri Lanka

China has decided to donate 300,000 Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine doses to Sri Lanka to jointly fight against the pandemic following a request by the government although the production capacity of the vaccine is still limited compared with the huge domestic and international demand, the Chinese embassy in Colombo said. 

"The vaccine doses are expected to be handed over to the Sri Lankan side in mid-February after the due procedures in both ends are completed," the embassy said in a statement. 

 The vaccine is manufactured by the China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm), a leading vaccine manufacturer in the world with a revenue of nearly US$ 62 billion in 2018.

The Sinopharm vaccine has already passed the phase three trials in several countries, with 79-86% effectiveness at preventing the COVID-19 infection, 99.52% of neutralizing antibodies, and 100% of preventing sever and moderate disease.

The Embassy also said as an inactivated vaccine, it better ensures the safety of vaccines and could be easily stored and transported at a regular refrigerator temperature, which is 2-8 degrees Celsius.

The vaccine has received approval for public use in the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan, and China.

As of yesterday (26), over 20 million Sinopharm doses have been administered across the world with no reports of serious adverse reactions.

Foreign State Leaders including the Seychelles President, Bahrain Prime Minister, Jordan prime Minister, the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, and the Serbian Health Minister have received the jabs.