Sri Lanka was currently purchasing the vaccines that were needed to give booster shots to its citizens, Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath said yesterday, October 27.
“The government decided to give a third dose to eligible citizens to protect them from COVID. Soon we will be ready to give the booster to everyone who has been double jabbed,” he said.
He also said that over 60% of the population had been double jabbed and that around 70% of the people had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. However, there are others in eligible age categories that had not been vaccinated.
“If those people also get vaccinated, we will be able to breathe somewhat of a sigh of relief,” he said.
Dr. Herath said that there was always a possibility of new variants entering the country and causing new waves. There was also a possibility of sporadic spikes in the reported cases.
“There is always the possibility of new variants emerging. On the other hand, when social and economic activities increase and when people relax, there is a possibility that the disease can spread. Usually, we start detecting people a few weeks after a new wave occurs and by the time we do realise something is amiss, things might be too late. This happens to all countries, that is why we see repeated spikes in cases, even in highly vaccinated western nations,” he said.
