Fifteen-thousand variant identification test kits to be imported soon will be distributed among five laboratories to identify Delta and other Covid-19 variants quickly, Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) Director Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa said.
He told a media conference at the HPB auditorium in Colombo on Friday that at present laboratories of the Sri Jayewardenepura University and the Colombo University have facilities to conduct variant identification.
This facility will be given to the Medical Research Institute (MRI), the General Hospitals of Kandy, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa and Karapitiya. The variant identification process will be accelerated by this step, he said.
It was revealed that around 25,000 people who wish to go abroad for jobs and educational purposes are demanding vaccines accepted by those countries. They will be given the relevant vaccine as stocks are available.
Legal action has been taken against those who spread fabricated information on the Moderna vaccine which is as safe as any other vaccine. The Moderna vaccine does not contain Luciferin as stated in fake social media posts, he said.