(UTV | COLOMBO) – The United States donated over 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Sri Lanka on Saturday (28). These vaccines, delivered through COVAX, will help save lives and increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Sri Lanka so essential to ending the pandemic, said the US Embassy in Colombo.
“As the pandemic continues and new variants emerge, it is critical we work together to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Alaina Teplitz, the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. “This donation of FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines comes at no cost and represents the United States’ continuing commitment to the health and prosperity of the Sri Lankan people.”
This vaccine delivery is in addition to over 1.5 million Moderna doses donated by the U.S. to Sri Lanka on July 16. As the global leader in public health assistance, the United States has donated $2 billion to the COVAX facility, an international initiative accelerating the research, development, and distribution of safe, effective, and high-quality vaccines to countries around the world. COVAX has already delivered 209 million vaccines to 138 countries. The U.S. is its largest single contributor.