Somalia receives just over 300,000 J&J doses from U.S

GOOBJOOG NEWS/MOGADISHU:Somalia has received slightly over 300,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from the US government in a boost to accelerate vaccinations against the deadly pandemic.
The donation of 302,400 doses of of J&J vaccines is an addition to the 108,000 doses received just last week from the French government. The donations are made through the COVAX facility and transported by UNICEF. The J&J vaccines are the first single-dose vaccines ever to be received in the region and are expected to inflate the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country and also assist in the full vaccination of more Somalis with just one shot.
While receiving the life-saving vaccines, Somalia’s Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Fawziya Abikar Nur said, “In this race against time to end this pandemic and vaccinate people, it is critical that as many safe and effective vaccines as possible are available to Somalia’s general public. I would like to send my gratitude to the Government of United States for this donation as it is crucial in our continued fight against COVID-19 and I urge everyone eligible to get vaccinated.”
“The arrival of this new batch of COVID-19 vaccines comes at a critical time, as cases in Somalia are on the rise. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, 16, 195 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 870 deaths, have been reported in Somalia by 12th August 2021. By yesterday, Somalia had noted a steep increase in Covid-19 cases with Laga Helay registering the highest numbers of cases at 92, having not reported any case for a long while. The COVID-19 vaccination uptake among the general population remains low and as of 12th August 2021, only 93,458 Somalis had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The vaccines help protect Somalis against Covid-19 and are an important step towards a return to normalcy” said the United Nations Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Anita Kiki Gbeho.
“On behalf of the United Nations in Somalia, I would like to congratulate the Government of Somalia, and particularly the Ministry of Health and Her Excellency the Minister, for reaching this critical milestone along the COVID prevention path; important to keeping Somali families and communities safe and in reducing the spread of COVID-19,” said Gbeho
It should be noted that the J&J vaccines come with an added advantage as they can be stored using standard vaccine storage equipment for routine vaccines, enabling the supplies to be distributed to far-flung areas, where Somalis can receive full vaccination with just a single jab. Somalia is expected to continue prioritizing Frontline workers, people with pre-existing conditions and eligible people with the vaccinations.
WHO and UNICEF have pledged their continued support for the the federal and state ministries of health to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccines through the management of cold chain systems and training of vaccinators to administer vaccines safely.
They also committed to monitoring and encouraging the general population to take up the life-saving vaccine.