LNP - Vulnerable people still refuse vaccines, leading to a sharp rise in deaths: Health Ministry

While saying that the demand for Pfizer vaccine has fairly gone down, the Health Ministry said the vulnerable people still forgo vaccines resulting in number of deaths going up at present. Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath told media briefing today that it is alarming that vulnerable and high-risk people were not interested in getting the vaccine. “We have not been able to bring the number of fatalities under control due to people in high-risk groups forgoing the vaccine,” he underscored. Thus, he urged high-risk people to get the vaccine without further delay in order to bring down the number of deaths. Moreover, Dr. Herath said the demand for Pfizer vaccine was extremely higher when it was not available in the country; however, the demand for Pfizer sees a downward trend, despite adequate stocks in hand at present. “The reason for this could be attributed to fake and misleading stories surface about the vaccine which discourage people to get them” he added.