Two COVID-19 vaccines, the Russian-made Sputnik V and the Indian-made Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, were submitted to the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) seeking approval for their use in Sri Lanka.
Local newspaper, The Morning, reported on Monday.
The NMRA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kamal Jayasinghe, said that the documents for Covaxin were submitted on Jan. 22, later than the documents for Sputnik V.
“If everything is in order, we can make a decision within two weeks, but usually we don’t take that long to make a decision. Scientific results of the vaccine and everything will be scrutinised,’’ Jayasinghe said.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said over the weekend that the first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines which were manufactured in India is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka will be receiving 600,000 vials of doses in the first vaccine consignment.
The COVID-19 vaccines will be first administered to Sri Lanka’s frontline health care workers combating COVID-19.
