Sri Lanka Association of Medical Specialists urges the government to adhere to a scientific and equitable methodology in distributing the Covid vaccines to prevent unwanted disharmony amongst front line health care workers by undue interference.
The Association says in a press release that it has witnessed manipulations and interferences by various powerful personnel (political and official) disappointing and offending the ordinary general public about this program. The Association states that they have we have come to know that a powerful medical trade union has begun its process of registering families of their membership to obtain the vaccine, especially the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, on a preferential basis disregarding all other categories of frontline health workers.
Read the full statement below
Attempts to create in Covid-19 vaccination program
It is extremely sad to notice that our country of “vaccination fame” failing to meet the expectations of our own citizens and international organizations with sub-optimal performance in the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
This matter has been explicitly stated by the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka in their press release dated 22.05.2021.
We have witnessed manipulations and interferences by various powerful personnel (political and official) disappointing and offending the ordinary general public about this program. Confounding it further, we have come to know that a powerful medical trade union has begun its process of registering families of their membership to obtain the vaccine, especially the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, on a preferential basis disregarding all other categories of frontline health workers.
We urge authorities to adhere to a scientific and equitable methodology in distributing the vaccine. Until we secure vaccines for all eligible citizens of this country, we are of the opinion that prioritization should only be based on a scientific assessment of “exposure risk” and certainly not the rank or position in the health sector.
If a rational approach is not adopted, all-powerful trade unions in the public sector will be up in arms demanding equal privilege for their families resulting in absolute chaos.
We wish to advise authorities to adhere to sound, scientific and transparent prioritization protocol practised in many countries for this process.
Finally, we would like to reiterate that scientifically sound vaccination policy is the need of the hour to prevent possible disharmony amongst front line health care workers at this critical juncture.
