Colombo, Jan 24 (IANS): Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in India is expected to arrive in the island nation on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka will be receiving 600,000 vials of doses with the first vaccine consignment, reports Xinhua news agency.

Addressing an event on Saturday, the President said the Covid-19 jabs will be first administered to medical officers, Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) and other health sector workers who are on the front line of coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Tri-forces personnel who work closely with medical staff and people who are more vulnerable to the virus will be given the jabs subsequently, Rajapaksa added.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 vaccination trials got underway in Sri Lanka on Saturday, the Health Ministry said, in order to prepare for the vaccination drive once it arrives here next week.

Deputy Director-General of Health Services (DDGHS) Hemantha Herath said this trial will help health officials to get an idea as to how the vaccination should be administered and also identify the discrepancies and shortcomings in the process.

This will also give officials the idea to determine the number of vaccines that could be given to the recipients within an hour or a day, he added.

Sri Lanka has so far reported 56,863 coronavirus cases and 278 deaths.