The government has ordered a compulsory mass vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan.
It will be accompanied by mass testing of all the employees of both public and private institutions to help the health authorities gauge the level of COVID-19 infection in the country.
According to the order dated Thursday, October 14, 2021and signed by the Vice President of Service Cluster, Hussien Abdelbagi who doubles as the Chairperson of the National Taskforce on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, the heads of the institution were immediately told to implement.
“Therefore, all the head of the public and private institutions are urged to comply and immediately without hesitations, implement the order with the help of the Ministry of Health,’ partly ready the order.
“This is to caution all the institutions furthermore that on the next few months to come, traveling outside might require mandatory COVID-19 vaccine certificates.”
Coronavirus vaccine has continued to witness low turn up despite South Sudan’s COVID-19 pandemic climbing to more than 12, 814 accumulative confirmed cases and 130 death as last week.
Early this month, the ministry of health launched a vaccination of 152,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses it received in September 2021.
This was preceded by the capacity training for 50 healthcare staff, 25 each from Western Bahr el Ghazal and the Central Equatoria States to carry out the vaccination.
Early this month, the Ministry of Health confirmed the expiry of at least 296 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine South Sudan received on September 1, 2021, through the COVAX facility.
The Chief of Planning and Information in the Ministry of Health Mabior Kiir Kudior said potential vaccine receivers have been misled resulting in low turn up and hence expiry of the doses.
“There is continued misconceptions and myth surrounding COVID-19 and our people don’t adhere to the vaccine and also people do not have the willingness to take the vaccine,” said Kudior.
According to the Ministry of Health, 44 of 79 counties of South Sudan were to be delivered the vaccine.