South Sudan Returning 72,000 COVID Vaccine Doses 

JUBA - South Sudan’s National Task Force on COVID-19 is sending back 72,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the COVAX facility for use in other countries before the doses expire.    

South Sudan received 132,000 doses in late March from COVAX, a global coalition that works to ensure fair and equitable access of coronavirus vaccines worldwide.     The ministry decided to give back the doses after discussing the matter with the World Health Organization, said South Sudan’s Health Ministry undersecretary, Dr. Mayen Machuot.    “We don’t want to run the risk of [the drug] expiring here in our hands. It will be accounted for, so we are committing back an amount of 72,000 doses so that they are used by someone who can deploy these doses in one week and then once we finish with our 60,000,” Machuot told reporters at a Juba news conference.