Sri Lanka has reportedly asked China for the COVID-19 vaccine. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakshe has written a letter to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping asking for his help in procuring Chinese vaccines for his country. 

The president’s letter was delivered to the Chinese authority by the newly appointed Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China. The ambassador also apprised the Chinese authority about the Covid situation in his country and also discussed bilateral cooperation in mitigating the pandemic effects. 

China is the second country Sri Lanka has asked for COVID-19 vaccines. Sri Lanka authorities are also discussing with India for two of its COVID-19 vaccines. During Indian External Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka last week, President Gotabaya Rajapakshe made the request. 

Jaishankar had said India would surely give priorityy to its neighbors when it starts exporting vaccines to other nations. 

The Chinese vaccine, developed by Sinovac, is marred by the controversy surrounding its efficiency. Different reports indicated its efficiency varied from 50 to 90 percent. 

No vaccines would be imported to Sri Lanka without approval from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), said Lalith Weeratunga, the head of the Sri Lanka Presidential Task Force on Deployment and Vaccination for COVID-19 last week.