South Sudan on Tuesday received its first consignment of 152,950 doses of Johnson & Johnson ‘Janssen’ COVID-19 vaccines donated by the United States government.

The single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines are the third batch of vaccine shipments to South Sudan through the COVAX Facility.

“Thanks to the United States Government, the vaccines will ramp up the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination programme to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older”, Health Minister, Elizabeth Achuei said in a statement.

“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the second vaccine in South Sudan’s programme, while the double-dose AstraZeneca vaccines have already been administered in the country,” she added.

The arrival of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine means South Sudan has now received a total of 271,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses providing protection against this global COVID-19 pandemic.

The first batch of Astra Zeneca vaccines were shipped through the COVAX facility to South Sudan on 25 March 2021 and the second batch of 59,520 Astra Zeneca vaccines donated by France arrived on 31 August 2021.

According to health officials, so far, 120,000 AstraZeneca vaccines had been provided through COVAX. As of Sunday, 12 September, 76,207 having received their first dose while 17,588 persons have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“The J&J vaccines that arrived today in South Sudan will offer an important contribution in the roll out of COVID vaccines by the convenience of a one-shot dose, this will help to reach hard to reach areas of South Sudan and further accelerate the journey back to normalcy. Protecting health workers, teachers and other delivering key social services is key to secure the continuation of services for children. We thank the US government and the COVAX facility. This delivery demonstrates the power of partnership,” said Jesper Moller, UNICEF Deputy Representative.

The ministry of Health, however, appealed to the public to adhere to simple, yet very effective public health COVID-19 disease prevention measures such as keeping a six-feet distance in public places, wearing face masks and practicing good hand hygiene.