ECONOMYNEXT – The Sri Lankan government’s delayed focus on COVID-19 vaccination was a great crime, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickrmesinghe said.
As soon Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi] announced plans to acquire the vaccine in November 2020, Wickremesinghe said in a statement on May 30, US-based vaccine manufacture Pfizer Inc submitted proposals.
“It did not work. Unfortunately, it was not until seven months later that the government focused seriously on the vaccination program. This is a great crime,” he said.
Any fresh moves to purchase the vaccine must involve an authorised representative of the company as third parties may be looking to make a profit, the former premier said,
“I urge the government not to use Sri Lanka’s vaccination drive as an opportunity for middlemen to make money,” he added.
Wickremesinghe also called for new legislation to battle Sri Lanka’s ongoing public health crisis. The cabinet of ministers headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must draft common policies to control the epidemic and sustain the economy, he said.
“No one else should be allowed to coordinate this. Discuss this cabinet-led draft with non-government party leaders and the opposition in parliament and seek their views,” he added.
The leader of the United National Party (UNP) said all opposition parties should submit proposals in this regard.
“I think it is important to discuss this with those in the medical field and with experts, including business people,” he said.
“The country will be able to submit a draft agreement that will be agreed upon by all within a month once all the discussions have taken place. Legislation to control pandemic can be passed under this,” said Wickremesinghe.
To date Sri Lanka has not passed any legislation to control the pandemic unlike other countries, he added.
“Let us all work together to formulate a common policy. Then the noble goal of protecting mother Sri Lanka will be fulfilled,” he said.
The UNP leader further said Sri Lanka’s health sector has reached a tipping point.
“The only way to protect them is to set a common set of principles that everyone will accept. Only through such a plan can we halt this situation,” he said, urging the government to follow expert advice.
“The government still does not accept medical advice. Malaysia decided to close the country for 14 days as soon as it received medical advice,” he said.
Wickremesinghe also warned that vaccines donated to the COVAX facility by countries with excess jabs will be reduced as these countries are now gearing to vaccinate children over 12 years of age. Given this reality, Sri Lanka will not be able to vaccinate all citizens until the end of 2022, he said.
“Thus, a system should be developed to control the spread of the disease until the vaccination is completed. The government must have a proper program for that. The WHO has issued guidelines for controlling the spread of the virus. We have not fully implemented those instructions,” said Wickremesinghe.
“We can take the example of how South Korea controlled this and how England controlled the disease after their respective second wave. We have to work according to such plans,” he added.
Sri Lanka must look to the future, said Wickremesinghe.
“No drugs have yet been found to suppress COVID-19. Some experts predict that it will be around 2024 when a permanent cure for COVID will be found. We must be prepared to face that situation. We also need to think about the money needed to sustain people’s lives during this time,” he said.
The UNP leader went on to say that many people in Sri Lanka cannot afford food and many have lost their livelihoods, which has to be addressed.
“We have to increase the number of treatment centres. The Medical Research Institute for COVID Research should further strengthen the research arm of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Another laboratory needs to be built for virology research,” he said.
Wickremesinghe called for further improved equipment and facilities in the medical laboratories of the Universities of Colombo, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Jaffna and Ragama.
“India is the largest researcher on the regional status of the COVID virus. In addition, several countries, including Great Britain and China, are conducting research on the world situation. We have to work with all these research institutes. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura has partnered with the University of Oxford in England to conduct this research,” he said. (Colombo/May31/2021)