An Army health official prepares the jab of the Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 at a camp held in Colombo on July 15, 2021. (ISHARA S KODIKARA / AFP)
China-made Sinopharm is proving to be the shot in the arm for the island nation of Sri Lanka, as its government steps up efforts to bring pupils back on campus from online classrooms, with schools and universities having been shut for almost 18 months.
Education Minister GL Peiris has described the ongoing programme of vaccinating school staff as the first step towards reopening schools in Sri Lanka, a country with a population of 22 million
China has been at the forefront of pandemic aid in Sri Lanka, having so far donated personal protective equipment, face masks and testing kits along with 7.1 million Sinopharm vaccines since March, after India found difficulties in supplying doses because of its own deadly second wave.
According to a study by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura released on July 20, not only is the vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm Group highly effective in combating the novel coronavirus – including the infectious Delta strain – in terms of efficacy.
"This is huge news for me," said Ireash Ravindra Kumar, a high school teacher in Colombo. "I was kind of paranoid about returning to the normal mode of on-campus teaching anytime soon, but when I heard about the findings of the research study on Sinopharm vaccine, it was such a huge relief.”
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Neelika Malavige, head of the immunology and molecular sciences department at USJ in Colombo, who co-headed the study said that while some schools are conducting online classes, a vast majority of Sri Lankan children have no access to online facilities.
"With schools being shut since April last year – only a few schools were open for a few weeks last year and two to three weeks this year – school education in Sri Lanka has been severely disrupted," said Malavige. "Even national examinations had to be postponed."
Sri Lanka has reported 289,577 confirmed cases and 3,917 deaths as of July 22, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. A total of 7.57 million vaccine doses have been administered, with around 1.7 million, or just 7.79 percent of the population, having been fully vaccinated.
The dire situation clearly illustrates why the government is going all out to fully vaccinate these groups by August at the latest, Malavige explained.
Education Minister GL Peiris has described the ongoing programme of vaccinating school staff as the first step towards reopening schools in Sri Lanka, a country with a population of 22 million. The nation aims to reopen schools by the end of August, he said.
As of July 19, 63 percent of the teachers in Sri Lanka have been vaccinated, according to government data. As many as 97 percent of teachers have been vaccinated in the most densely populated Western Province – home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the administrative and business center.
"Once vaccination of teachers is complete, we will be able to restart school education," Peiris has been quoted as saying by local media.
"I don't think that distance or online learning is a satisfactory substitute for classroom activity. We cannot keep schools closed indefinitely," Peiris told local media.
In his view, vaccination will serve to improve teachers' safety as well as build stronger trust with parents.
Doctor Ravindra P Rannan-Eliya, executive director and fellow of the Colombo-based Institute of Health, said that how well things go with China's vaccine aid may determine how normalcy is restored in school education.
"China has certainly emerged as a credible model in fighting and containing what has come to be the one of the worst pandemics to hit humankind," he said.
Rannan-Eliya said China's experience, help and assistance are of paramount importance for Sri Lanka.
Not only has China set a success model in containing COVID-19, it has also emerged as a country capable of producing pandemic supplies at the scale needed, he said.
Rannan-Eliya also mentioned how the Pacific nation of New Zealand has succeeded in combating the virus by following China's example – enforcing strict lockdowns, closing borders and undertaking testing at a large scale.
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HA Suraj, headmaster of the Colombo-based Royal Institute International School, one of the largest in the country, described the government's current move to inoculate teachers prudent and the Chinese assistance timely.
Suraj is among those who have already received their first Sinopharm jab and is waiting to be administered a second dose in August.
"Except for a mild fever which didn't last long, I felt no adverse effects after receiving the vaccine. I thank the Chinese Government for making available the much-awaited vaccine. Not only has it boosted my confidence, it will also go a long way in resuming academic activities," Suraj said.
"Vaccination is key to reopening of schools, and for that 270,000 doses are required," he said, adding the indefinite closure of schools due to the pandemic must end.
The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.