India’s gift of 500,000 doses of COVISHIELD vaccines to arrive tomorrow

India will gift 500,000 doses of made in India COVISHIELD vaccines to Sri Lanka under India’s #VaccineMaitri initiative, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.

The consignment will be transported in a special Air India flight tomorrow and packed in tailor-made boxes for the purpose. This will be ceremonially handed over by High Commissioner Gopal Baglay at the Bandaranaiake International Airport.

In a remarkable coincidence, the consignment of COVISHIELD vaccine will arrive on the auspicious Duruthu Poya Day. As such the High Commissioner, who had first arrived in Sri Lanka to take up his assignment in the Vesak Week in May 2019 with 12.5 tons of medical supplies as gift by India to Sri Lanka for fighting COVID-19 pandemic, will pray at the sacred Gangaramaya Temple for the health and well being of the people of Sri Lanka on the Day, the High Commission said. 

He will also seek the blessings of Ven. Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thero. As per the Buddhist traditions in India and Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner will offer meals to devotees at the Temple.

Oxford-Astrazeneca’s COVISHIELD vaccine is manufactured by Serum Institute of India. This has been approved for emergency use by the Government of Sri Lanka.

“The gift from India is keeping in line with India’s continued support to Sri Lanka in fighting the COVID pandemic. Four consignments of medical supplies weighing around 25 tonnes were donated by India, which also organised online experience-sharing programmes for Sri Lankan medical professionals,” the statement said. 

The two partners have also put up a joint front in the COVID-19 battle with India and Sri Lanka being the largest contributors to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for SAARC. Prime Minister Modi had complimented Sri Lanka’s leadership on containing the pandemic.