Juba runs out of J&J vaccine

The Chief of Planning and Information in the Ministry of Health, Mabior Kiir Kudior, has revealed that all COVID-19 vaccination centres in Juba have run out of Johnson & Jonson vaccine.

“Due to high consumption of J and J, there are no more J and J vaccines currently available in Juba,” said Mabior.

However, he said J & J vaccines deployed to other states are still in stock.

In an exclusive interview with The City Review yesterday at the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC), Mabior revealed that a cumulative total of 130,370 people have been inoculated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the country.

“This number of people were vaccinated in 221 health facilities in 66 counties, which means that 26 health facilities in the other 14 flood-affected counties are yet to be touched just because of the flood situation,” he said.

Vaccine in demand

Mabior stressed that out of the cumulative number of individuals vaccinated with J & J, females comprise only 44.6 per cent. He attributed the increase in uptake to the sensitisation by the national ministry of health together with the partners.

He said the government has put in all measures to ensure that they lobby for more vaccines of J and J.

“We have 160,000 doses of the J and J vaccine, which is a donation from the USA, and they will be arriving in South Sudan soon. We also have 93,600 more J and J doses, a donation from France by the end of December or mid-December, ” he said.

“However, we are expecting the vaccine to arrive in Juba next week, but we are not sure of the date of delivery. So, we are waiting for the date of delivery, ” he said 

Mabior added that there would be another batch of 336,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson to be deployed in the country as a donation from the United States of America.

He advised those who have not yet taken their second dose of AstraZeneca to do so before the vaccine is finished.