Johnson and Johnson vaccine

South Sudan is set to receive the first shipment of 151,200 of the Johnson & Johnson ‘Janssen’ COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday.

The 151,200 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is donated by USAID via the COVAX facility.

The single dose J&J COVID-19 vaccines are the third batch of several vaccine shipments to arrive in the country through the support of the COVAX Facility.

The COVAX Facility is a global partnership comprising Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and WHO established to ensure all countries can equitably access COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Sacha Boostma, the World Health Organization Covid-19 Incident Manager in South Sudan says the vaccine is due to arrive in Juba on Tuesday 14 September 2021.

She says priority will be given to the elderly, health workers, people with underlying health conditions among others.

“We will get 151,200 so it’s the same as the AstraZeneca that does not change. In South Sudan basically anyone above 18 is eligible to get vaccinated. It is much easier because of the fact that you only need one dose,” Dr. Sacha told Eye Radio on Monday.

“We are still wanting to prioritize the group we had been focusing on: the elderly people over 65, the health care workers and of course people with underlying health conditions.

“What we will do as with AstraZeneca, we targeted 35 counties in South Sudan so we want to deploy the Johnson and Johnson to all the more remote areas so to the remaining 45 counties that have not yet been targeted with any vaccination for Covid-19.”

The vaccine to be deployed across the country is said to last for six months.

Unlike the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is administered once.

On August 31, 2021, South Sudan received 59,250 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under COVAX facility to kick off the 2^nd phase of Covid 19 vaccination in the Country.