South Sudan receives 60,000 shots of AstraZeneca vaccine

By Tapeng Michael Ohure

South Sudan will receive 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca by Tuesday, a World Health Organisation official said.

The donation by France will be the third batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine received by South Sudan since it got the first vaccines in April.

“The latest information that we have received is that next Tuesday of the 16^th of November, the 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca will come in,” WHO Incident Manager in South Sudan, Dr. Sacha Bootsman said at a press briefing on November 14.

“These 60,000 doses are meant to give these 51,833 people that have only had one shot of AstraZeneca to be given their second dose of AstraZeneca,” he said.

South Sudan was expected to receive the 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines and another 168,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines by November 12 but flights delayed, Bootsman said.

The doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines are expected to arrive by the end of November.

According to WHO, about 92,408 people are fully vaccinated in South Sudan, 59,352 people received the Johnson and Johnson while 33,056 people received two doses of AstraZeneca and 51,833 received one shot of AstraZeneca.

South Sudan confirmed 71 cases of COVID-19 in the past one week bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 12,585, with 12,168 recoveries and 133 deaths.