S. Sudan stuck with 126,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines: official

May 16, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan is stuck with more than 126,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines due to low turn up of people who show up to receive the COVID-19 doses, a health official said.

“In terms of vaccination, we are still at a low point. As per Saturday the total number of people so far vaccinated is 6,403. This shows that we still have over 126,000 doses to be administered,” Richard Lako, Covid-19 Incident Manager in the Ministry of Health said on Sunday.

According to the country’s health ministry, plans are currently underway to vaccinate at least 2.4 million people out of the estimated population of 12 million.

Lako said the ministry has decided to extend the vaccination across the 10 states to enable more people receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

He urged the public to continue to adhere to the preventive health guidelines, saying there is a rise in cases of the disease in the region.

In March, South Sudan received 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility and is expected to receive up to 732,000 in the first six months of the year.

(ST)