Health authorities of Sri Lanka approved China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on Friday night, state minister Channa Jayasumana said.

This is the third COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the country, after the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a mass vaccination program as it began inoculating all those above 30 years old in the urban Western Province from mid-February, after vaccinating frontline workers and health workers with the AstraZeneca doses.

Sri Lanka received AstraZeneca doses from India in January and February. It also received 264,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility which is being administered to those above the age of 60 years.

(With input from Xinhua)