EES Health Ministry launches Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccines

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Eastern Equatoria State Ministry of Health in collaboration with its implementing partners launched the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine at the State Hospital in Torit on Thursday.

The launching was facilitated by OPEN South Sudan and other implementing partners.

During the launch, Project Officer for OPEN South Sudan, Loku Simon Zachariah, says the Ministry of Health mandated OPEN South Sudan to spearhead the vaccination of Johnson and Johnson in Eastern Equatoria State.

He says it is individuals’ responsibility to protect his or herself from the deadly virus.

“OPEN has been mandated by the Ministry of Health to spearhead the vaccination of Johnson and Johnson in the whole of Eastern Equatoria State and we urge everyone to come and get vaccinated. This vaccine is voluntary but I also wanted to say that it is a responsibility for you to protect yourself and protect the community at large. We have few doses delivered to the state, therefore, we are going to operate on first come first serve, the more you delay then you will also have to wait until we get another supply and we don’t know when it will come”.

Project Coordinator for Health Pooled Fund, Dr Amin Gordiano Okwahi, who received the jab during the launch, urges implementing partners and County Health Department to ensure the Boma Health Workers mobilize people for vaccination.

“As the HPF through the implementing partners we would make sure that our implementing partners will participate fully in this exercise and I will also urge the implementing partners and the CHDs to make sure that all the Boma Health Workers at the grassroots should work hard to make sure there is mobilization and they all send people to the respective sites where there is a vaccination for J and J, without their participation I think coverage will be very low and all the health workers within the facilities supported by HPF should make sure they also vaccinated”.

UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Torit, Mikelele Bernard Ofuho, says the vaccines have only mild side effects.

“It is true that there is going to be side effects I think it will not generalise everybody, there will be those who will not feel any kind of side effect, it is more or less same with AstraZeneca so many people did not feel actually the pain, may be the pain of the needle, the pain of the needle is the one that we always see as something that is painful, and advantage with Johnson and Johnson is that that pain will be only one it is unlike AstraZeneca that you have two jabs”.

Eastern Equatoria State Ministry of Health, Director General, Dr Etin Concord Errib says people with severe allergic reactions, high temperature and those below eighteen years old, are not eligible to be vaccinated.

“Who should get this vaccine? It is everybody from eighteen years onwards but who should not take this vaccine? is anybody with severe allergic reactions. The second group that should not receive immediately are people with fever more than thirty eight degrees centigrade they should wait until the fever subside and off course those below eighteen years are not eligible for this. Now who should be vaccinate first obviously the health workers because they are at high risk of getting the virus and second group are the elderly people. How it protect, it is from 85 to 100% that means it is very effective”.

On September 14th 2021, the United States of America donated over 150,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, through the COVAX initiative to combat COVID-19, promote health, and advance global health security.

Eastern Equatoria State has received 390 vials and each has 5 doses.