After India sends Sri Lanka 5 lakh COVID vaccine doses, China to send 3 lakh of its own

A day after India sent 5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka under the "Vaccine Maitri" initiative, China has announced that it will donate three lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses to the island nation, stepping up its vaccine diplomacy in South Asia. 

"China will donate three lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses to Sri Lanka to jointly fight the COVID-19 pandemic," state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a statement from the Chinese embassy in Colombo. China made the decision after a recent request by the Lankan government, it said.

China steps up vaccine diplomacy

The jabs manufactured by the China National Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (Sinopharm) are expected to be handed over to the Lankan side in mid-February. A number of countries in the subcontinent including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, where Beijing has substantial investments, caught China by surprise by opting for Indian vaccines.

So far, India has sent consignments of Coronavirus vaccines under grant assistance to Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Seychelles, Myanmar and Mauritius. India is one of the world's biggest drug-makers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the Coronavirus vaccines.  

It is also undertaking commercial supplies of the doses to a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil and Morocco. India has also rushed two million doses of Covishield vaccine to Brazil on the request of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Meanwhile, Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's senior advisor Lalith Weeratunga told journalists in Colombo on Wednesday that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) was conducting tests on the Sinopharm vaccine and once clearance is obtained from them, the vaccine could be used under an emergency basis, the Xinhua report said.

Sri Lanka receives Covishield vaccine gifted by India

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday thanked India for its generosity after he received five lakh doses of Covishield vaccine gifted by New Delhi under the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. President Rajapaksa was at the Colombo international airport to receive the consignment of free Indian COVID-19 vaccines which arrived on a special Air India flight.

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The consignment was packed in 42 boxes. Rajapaksa was joined at the airport by the Indian envoy in Colombo Gopal Baglay. A total of 250,000 people, mostly health frontline workers, members of the security forces and police and the vulnerable aged, will get the vaccine on a priority basis. 

The Sri Lankan government said the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation would be this week ordering 3 million doses of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine from India's Serum Institute. Sri Lanka has recorded more than 60,000 coronavirus cases so far with 288 deaths.

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(With agency inputs)