Press Releases
The Provision of COVID-19 vaccines to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka through the COVAX facility
The Government of Japan has decided to provide approximately 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in Japan, through the COVAX facility, to Sri Lanka, as part of assistance by Japan to contribute to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. On July 31, approximately 700 thousand doses of those will be airlifted from Japan to Sri Lanka.
Since the latter half of April, the number of new infections of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka has been remaining at a high level, and securing AstraZeneca vaccines for the second doses is an urgent issue for the Sri Lankan government.
The vaccines we provided are expected to contribute to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. Japan will continue to provide various assistance in cooperation with relevant countries and international organizations towards the earliest convergence of COVID-19.
[Note] COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka
As of July 27, approximately 300 thousand confirmed cases and 4 thousand deaths have been reported in Sri Lanka. The number of newly confirmed cases has been at a high level since the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in the latter half of April. This grant of vaccines is a response to the urgent situation where there remain those without any prospects of receiving the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.