South Sudan sticks with 126,000 doses of AstraZeneca due to low turn up

On May 17, 2021

South Sudan is stuck with more than 126,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines due to low turn up as only 6,403 people have received COVID-19 doses since April when the vaccination started.

COVID-19 Incident Manager in the Ministry of Health, Richard Lako in Juba said on Sunday, the ministry has decided to extend the vaccination centers to 23 across the 10 states in order to allow more people to get inoculated.

“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 that need to be administered,” he said.

According to the ministry, the country aims to vaccinate 2.4 million people out of the country’s estimated population of 12 million.

On March 25, Juba received 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility. And it is expected to receive a total of 732,000 doses of vaccines within the first six months of 2021.

As of Sunday, South Sudan registered no new case of COVID-19 infection, bringing the cumulative number of the confirmed cases to 10,653, with 115 deaths since April 6, last year when the first case was registered.

Lako urged the public to continue to adhere to the preventive health guidelines due to fears of the third wave in neighboring countries bordering South Sudan.

Kamila/Reuters