Health Ministry: ‘COVID vaccines now available in all Sudan states’

While Sudan continues to register cases of COVID-19, Ismail El Adani, Director of the Immunisation Department at the Federal Ministry of Health, said that the AstraZeneca and Johnson vaccines are available in all states and that the Sinopharm vaccine is available in the states of El Gezira and Khartoum.

Sudan’s Northern State recorded the death of one person from COVID-19 in Dongola locality and eight new cases of the coronavirus on Monday. In its official daily epidemiological report, the Ministry of Health said that the number of active cases in the state reached 59, of which 51 are in homes and eight cases in the isolation centre in Dongola. The accumulated coronavirus infections in Northern State since the start of the pandemic amounted to 889 recovered cases and 2,034 fatalities.

Last week, Sudan received a shipment of 218,400 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a donation from France, a statement from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said.

The statement said the vaccines were delivered with UNICEF support through the COVAX facility, a coalition co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), GAVI, the Global Vaccines Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), that ensures equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to countries regardless of their income.

“We are thankful to the government of France for this generous donation” UNICEF said in the statement.

According to the statement over 800,000 people in Sudan including health workers were vaccinated since March 2021 with the first COVAX shipment and other donations. “The majority have taken only one dose, and this shipment will contribute to an increase in the number of people who are fully vaccinated, which is required to alter the spread of the infection.” It added.

It further pointed out that the vaccinations come at a critical time as the infection numbers are climbing while the country is preparing to re-open schools after three years of numerous interruptions.

According to the release UNICEF is working with the government to safely re-open the schools through providing hygiene support and masks and by promoting the vaccination of teachers.

UNICEF is working with the government of Sudan, WHO, COVAX and other partners to rollout the vaccines to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Sudan expects more doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming quarter to reach more people before the end of the year.