He claimed that if the SPC had started the process early, Sri Lanka would have already secured the required vaccine doses. However, at the time the SPC obtained the sole authority to bring down Covishield, there was a local agent for the Serum Institute. Explaining the legal procedure, Attorney-at-Law Ranil Angunawela said the SPC is tasked with the import or manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka started its Covid-19 vaccination programme in late January, after receiving 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine from India as a donation. Subsequently, Sri Lanka placed orders with the Serum Institute of India for more doses of the Covishield vaccine.
