Covid-19: US donates 168,000 J J vaccine doses to South Sudan

Juba,

South Sudan’s health authorities on Thursday received 168,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by the United States government.  

“The Embassy of the United States in South Sudan is pleased to announce the arrival of 168,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine that the United States is sharing with South Sudan through Covax, a global equitable vaccine access initiative.

“We are sharing these doses safely, equitably, and with no political strings attached. We are doing this with the singular objective of saving lives. This second batch brings the number of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provided to South Sudan to 320,950,” said Diana Daibes, the USAid Program Office Director at the US Embassy in Juba.

Ms Daibes said the first batch of vaccines arrived in September.

The US vaccine donation will be the largest to South Sudan to fight the Covid-19, she added.

“This donation of vaccines to protect people in South Sudan from Covid-19 is part of the US Government’s commitment to end this pandemic worldwide.

“Safe and effective vaccines are our best tool to end the pandemic, and the United States has committed to providing 1.2 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses worldwide” Ms Daibes added.

Speaking while receiving the vaccines at Juba International Airport, Health Minister Elizabeth Achuei urged South Sudan to stick to one vaccine, “If you first got vaccinated with AstraZeneca, please stick to it, or if it was Johnson and Johnson, then stick on it.”

Covid-19 Data

So far, 139,364 people have been fully vaccinated, 33,006 with two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 106,358 with a single dose of the J&J vaccine.

According to health authorities, the priority now is to provide the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the 51,833 people who have received their first dose.

The current Covid-19 status in the country shows the cumulative number of tests performed up to December 5 is 271,262 since Covid-19 was confirmed in the country. The country has recorded 12,823 Covid cases and 12,463 recoveries. The death toll stands at 133.