Amid the controversy surrounding the Sinopharm vaccine, an opposition lawmaker has said that Colombo has brought the Chinese made COVID-19 vaccine to the country without the approval of the World Health Organisation (WHO) showing disregard for the lives of their people.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Manusha Nanayakkara said that four members of the country's medicine regulatory authority had to leave because they did not approve the Chinese vaccine.
"The government delayed the importation of the corona vaccine. Our experts say that the approval of the World Health Organisation has not been granted for the corona vaccine from China. However, when the doctors and officials of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority said they could not approve the Chinese vaccine, the government asked them to resign. That is how four people resigned refusing to approve the vaccine," Nanayakkara said.
"After that, a doctor who is not even in Sri Lanka has been appointed as the chairman. Who appointed this chairman? The son of the former chairman of the Southern Provincial Council has been appointed as the chairman of NMRA. After that permission has been given to import the Chinese vaccine to Sri Lanka," the SJB MP added.
He further said that senior medical practitioners, both in the government and private sectors, have expressed concerns over the use of the Chinese vaccine, adding that the country's regulatory authority, which is the decision-making body for the importation of drugs into Sri Lanka has been politicised as well.
Sri Lanka's senior medical experts have stated that the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, which was given by Beijing, should not be used on Sri Lankan nationals, according to a report published in Daily Mirror.
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