Monrovia, 27 July 2021: Liberia on 25th July 2021 received a donation of 302,400 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine from the United States Government through the COVAX facility; a partnership of CEPI, GAVI, UNICEF and WHO to expand the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country.
In March of this year, the country received 96,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and so far, over 95,000 doses have been administered. With the arrival of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the country will resume the vaccination campaign, which has been halted after vaccines previously received were used up amid case surge in in June and July.
The US Ambassador in a brief speech informed the Government of Liberia that the donation is a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to share U.S. vaccines supply to the world. “We are proud to continue working together with the Liberian Government, the private sector and civil society to do everything we can to mitigate the pandemic’s high toll on life, livelihoods and social impacts,” remarked Michael McCarthy. To everyone who has not been vaccinated, I strongly encourage you to do so as I did; as soon as you have the opportunity.”
Receiving the donation on behalf of the Government of Liberia, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs (a.i) Mrs. Thelma Duncan Sawyer thanked the American Government and all collaborating partners for this worthy donation. “Let us realize that this is our country and the partners are here to help therefore, we must continue to follow all the rules including getting vaccinated” she said.
In her remarks, the Hon. Minister for Health Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah thanked the US Government and all the partners involved in the COVID-19 response efforts, notably the World Health Organization, UNICEF and GAVI. She noted that these vaccines will go a long way in boosting the covid-19 vaccination campaign initiated earlier this year by the Ministry of Health and partners.
Speaking on behalf of the United Nations (UN) in Liberia, Mr. Neils Scott, UN Resident Coordinator commended the American Government for this intervention. He emphasized that the availability of vaccines alone is not only enough, but rather the use of the vaccines by the public to prevent more serious infections.
“The challenge is to address vaccine misinformation in the population and to work hard in convincing the public to get vaccinated is the surest and fastest way to end this pandemic” He noted.
The Resident Coordinator urged the general public to continue taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves, their families and their communities.
The ceremony was attended by the Head of Agencies of WHO and UNICEF, senior Government officials, staff form the United Nations family, the International Rescue Committee and the media.