34,000 doses of single-shot J&J vaccine expected today – MinisterHealth Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said today that some 34,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine are expected to arrive in Guyana today.
“The Government of Guyana purchased 34,000 doses of J&J vaccines. This was a CARICOM (Caribbean Community) initiative brokered with the African Union. It took us a while to get all the elements sorted out, but I’m pleased to say that by today we would be getting those vaccines. Once we receive those vaccines today, we’ll then be able to roll it out into various communities,” he said during his daily update.
Guyana is among eleven countries that will benefit from 400 million doses offered by the African Union. Jamaica, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago are also on the list of countries to receive jabs.
In April this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended the use of (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine in the United States.
The vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. People had the most protection two weeks after getting vaccinated. In the clinical trials, the vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick. No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine had to be hospitalized, the CDC said.
Guyana’s vaccination programme continues with some 301,368 adults receiving the first dose of a vaccine. This translates to 58.7% of the country’s adult population, while 153,840 (30%) have received both doses of a vaccine.
