THE GLASS IS HALF FULL

There is reason to be hopeful despite the ongoing third wave

An uproar of sorts followed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s statement in early July that 13 million vaccinations (including second doses) would be administered to Sri Lankans by the end of September.

The critics pointed to the fact that this would call for a monumental effort on the part of the vaccine roll out – meaning that an average of 100,000 jabs a day between then and the stipulated timeline would be needed whereas the country’s track record in the preceding weeks amounted to around half of this number, in addition to questions as to where new consignments of vaccines will come from and when.

Since then, however – and despite poor messaging and the chaos of the past – the immunisation programme has been ramped up with the army joining the fray, the introduction of walk-in facilities and even a mobile service for sections of the population.

And the result of these measures has been monumental.

In the four days ended 16 July, Sri Lanka vaccinated some 1.3 million citizens at an average of more than 300,000 a day, thanks also to 3.5 million doses of Sinopharm and Moderna arriving on our shores in the first two weeks of July.

So Sri Lanka has thus far received in excess of 10 million doses of various vaccines with another 30 million or thereabouts due to arrive between now and the end of this year.

That’s sufficient to vaccinate the entire population with two doses and well in excess of the number needed to reach that elusive herd immunity – the government has set a target of immunising 63 percent of the citizenry with two doses by the end of this year, for which we need around 26.5 million vaccines.

Sri Lanka’s third wave has thankfully passed its peak although we have some way to go to get back to where we were in early April; and as this month’s Opinion says, there’s now a need to balance the needs of the economy with those of protecting people’s health and lives.

Meanwhile, there’s a growing trend of countries demanding proof of vaccination – or ‘vaccine passports’ – to issue visas to international travellers so it is in the interest of everyone to unite in Sri Lanka’s quest to vaccinate its people.

– Editor-in-Chief