The Embassy of the United States in South Sudan is pleased to announce the arrival of 168,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that the United States is sharing with South Sudan through COVAX, a global equitable vaccine access initiative. We are sharing these doses safely, equitably, and with no political strings attached. We are doing this with the singular objective of saving lives.
This second batch brings the number of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provided to South Sudan to 320,950. The first batch arrived on September 14, 2021. Scheduled to arrive via COVAX at the Juba International Airport in Juba today, December 9, this donation of the vaccines will be the largest by a single country to South Sudan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “This donation of vaccines to protect people in South Sudan from COVID-19 is part of the U.S. Government’s commitment to end this pandemic worldwide,” said Diana Daibes, the USAID Program Office Director at the U.S. Embassy in Juba.
Safe and effective vaccines are our best tool to end the pandemic, and the United States has committed to providing 1.2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide. To date, the United States has shipped more than 280 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 110 countries. The commitment to provide COVID-19 vaccines to 92 Gavi Advance Market Commitment economies and African Union Member States will continue to fulfill U.S. President Biden’s commitment to strengthen the fight against the global pandemic.
As President Biden has said: the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic.
We look forward to continued coordination with the African Union and Africa’s CDC to deliver these doses across the continent through the COVAX initiative via their established logistical channels.
