NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2021) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, national media reported on Tuesday, citing cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.
According to the Colombo Gazette online news portal, after the inoculation of medical workers, who were the first to receive shots, members of the Sri Lankan parliament were added to priority vaccination groups. The president and prime minister were inoculated along with the lawmakers, the spokesman said.
Rambukwella also noted the importance of vaccinating prominent figures, such as public officials, to encourage more people to get COVID-19 shots.
Sri Lanka rolled out its mass vaccination campaign on January 29 after receiving the first 500,000 doses of the Covieshield vaccine � India's version of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine � from New Delhi.
To date, the island nation has confirmed more than 80,500 cases of the virus, including 450 fatalities and over 75,100 recoveries, according to the national health authorities.
