Sri Lanka’s NMRA okays Pfizer-BionTech jab for emergency use

COLOMBO: The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in Sri Lanka and a purchase order for five million doses has already been made, a spokesperson said in a report carried by Economy Next.

State Minister Dr Sudarshini Fernandopulle’s media secretary said that the NMRA’s advisory panel granted its approval for the jab on Friday, Economy Next reported.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is one of the two pioneering jabs the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved for emergency use.

The other one was the Oxford-AstaZeneca vaccine that Sri Lanka used to inoculate some 900,000 people including frontline workers.

Sri Lanka on Friday registered 19 more victims of COVID-19, marking the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day.

The latest victims have moved the country’s death toll to 764, the, the Department of Government Information stated.