Sri Lanka on Saturday approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
It comes as the island nation battles a third wave of the virus, while suffering a restricted supply of vaccines from neighbouring India.
Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle, the minister overseeing the fight against the epidemic, said in a statement the government would order 5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Sri Lanka is seeking to secure other vaccines as the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has suspended the delivery of AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine due to spiralling coronavirus infections in India.
Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia to approve the Pfizer vaccine. It has also approved Russia's Sputnik and China's Sinopharm vaccines for emergency use.
The island nation reported 1,914 new cases and 19 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to federal health data, and its total number of active cases is higher than any point since the pandemic began.
Infections surged after crowded celebrations for traditional New Year last month.
Israel's military kept up its assault on Gaza City and the wider Gaza Strip on Saturday, dismantling underground shafts and booby-trapped structures in attacks that left 34 Palestinians dead, according to Gazan health authorities.
World leaders gather in New York this coming week for a UN General Assembly dominated by US President Donald Trump's return to the rostrum, war in Gaza and Ukraine, rising Western recognition of Palestinian statehood and nuclear tensions with Iran.
Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, killing three people and injuring dozens, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
The UN Security Council voted on Friday to restore sweeping economic sanctions on Iran in response to renewed concerns over its nuclear activities, a move that drew sharp condemnation from Tehran.
The bodies of 19 people were recovered after the rubber migrant boat they were in sank off the eastern Libyan coast, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.
Eight convoys carrying diverse Emirati humanitarian aid crossed into the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian Rafah Border Crossing within the framework of ‘’Operation Chivalrous Knight 3”.
Operating on a 24/7 basis, the Operation Control Centre (OCC) is the central hub monitoring passengers and trains to ensure a safe journey from start to finish.