Africa-Press – Mozambique. The US Government on Monday in Maputo donated another 2,016,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, through the COVAX global initiative, intended to assist Mozambique’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout under way across the country.
The vaccine consignment is the fourth and the largest US bilateral delivery. Taken together, these deliveries amount to nearly 3.5 million doses. The donation keeps the US as the largest bilateral donor to Mozambique.
Addressing the delivery ceremony, the Mozambican Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, said that on 22 October the US had donated 840,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and within a fortnight the country received another donation, the fourth since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“The latest move is of extreme importance for Covid-19 control across the country, as this is a vaccine that will be administered in a single dose, enabling the immunisation of about two million people, thus reducing the number of people at risk of developing serious diseases or death caused by Covid-19”, Tiago said.
Most of the vaccines currently available require two doses to attain full effectiveness. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is the main exception, requiring just a single dose.
The donation, Tiago stressed, comes at a time when the country needs to shield itself against the new strains of the virus and a prospective fourth wave. As a country, he added, Mozambique cannot again face the tragic situations such as the ones recorded through the first and second waves.
“Therefore, we would like to seize this occasion to urge everyone who is over 30 years old, living in either the rural or urban areas, who has not yet been vaccinated to make their way urgently to the vaccination centres,” Tiago declared.
He added that, over the next few days, the vaccination will target a younger age group, those aged between 18 and 30.
Tiago also announced that the health authorities will boost along the coming week mobile vaccination brigades, named “Vaccine Caravans” which will attach priority to places where large numbers of people gather. The Caravans will use the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and Maputo city will host the pilot phase.
The US Ambassador to Mozambique, Dennis Hearne, said that the vaccination reduces the risk of an outbreak of other strains, such as the latest Omicron variant.
Washington has already invested over 60 million dollars in response to Covid-19, for a wide range of health needs including training and life-saving equipment such as ventilators. Through its development agency (USAID), the US has been assisting the delivery of the vaccine to the country’s 10 provinces.
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