Lankan migrant workers with valid visas to get approved vaccines from next week

Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says a special programme would be implemented next week to vaccinate all Lankan migrant workers waiting to leave for foreign jobs with valid visas with vaccines approved in the host countries.

Minister Silva said that already nearly 8,000 Lankan workers who had been granted work permits and visas in about 15 countries were waiting to receive a vaccine accepted by those countries.

The Minister made the announcement at a discussion held with Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and other officials at the Health Ministry.

Those migrant workers are expected to leave for Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, the Maldives, Malaysia, Israel and Cyprus for employment.

The Minister of Health and the officials of the Ministry, agreed to give the Pfizer vaccine to all those who wish to go abroad for employment, as it is the most widely accepted in all these countries.

Discussions were held to provide the first dose of the vaccine in Colombo next week and to give the second dose as scheduled to facilitate them to travel abroad within the next two months.

As many of the job seekers, who go abroad for employment are young people, under the age of 30, the authorities discussed providing the vaccine with special consideration.

Many senior officials, including Health Ministry Secretary Dr. S. H. Munasinghe, Labour Ministry Secretary Mapa Pathirana, Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena, and State Pharmaceutical Corporation Chairman Specialist Neuro Surgeon Dr. Prasanna Gunasena joined the discussion.