Professor Neelika Malavige of the Faculty of Community Medicine has resigned from the Independent Vaccine Advisory Committee.
Two weeks ago, Prof. A.Pathmeshwaran, affiliated with the Colombo North (Ragama) Medical Faculty , too had resigned.
Specialists Dr Ananda Wijewickrama, Dr Rajiva de Silva, Dr Kanthi Nanayakkara (Virologist), Prof. Channa Ranasinghe (Respiratory Physician), Dr Lakkumar Fernando (Pediatrician) and Dr Hasitha Tissera (Epidemiologist) were also on this committee.
The committee recommended a vaccination program in Sri Lanka after a thorough study of the vaccination programmes in many parts of the world and the recommendations of the World Health Organization However, it was changed, in the end, to suit the needs of different individuals.
Meanwhile, members of the Independent Expert Committee of the National Drug Regulatory Authority said that many deaths in the past few months could have been prevented if the vaccination program had been implemented as advised by the National Advisory Committee on Infectious Diseases (NACCD).
