Djibouti receives more COVID-19 jabs as vaccination drive underway

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Djibouti received more coronavirus vaccines on Saturday as the small nation of Horn of Africa continues its vaccination campaign.

Health minister Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh received the first batch of 151,200 doses of Johnson&Johnson vaccines at Djibouti International Airport.

US Ambassador to Djibouti Jonathan Pratt and several international partners attended the handover ceremony.

"Very quickly, we are going to put these vaccines at the disposal of the Djiboutian population to strengthen and intensify the COVID-19 vaccination campaign which is underway," Abdilleh said.

He thanked the US government for the acquisition of vaccines through COVAX, a global vaccine sharing facility.

In March, Djibouti received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines made by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac.

Bordering Somalia in the south and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in the east, Djibouti has so far recorded 11,622 coronavirus cases, 155 deaths while 11,457 people recovered from the disease.

Nearly 26,800 doses have been given in the country and 8,810 people, or 0.9% of the population, have been fully vaccinated.

Djibouti launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign on March 15 and President Ismail Omar Guelleh late June issued a decree announcing that it is a must to vaccinate the country's adult population and its foreign residents against the coronavirus.