The Jamaica government has secured enough Johnson & Johnson vaccines to inoculated half of the country’s population.
In the United States, many Jamaican-Americans in South Florida have shied away from taking this particular vaccine since the 10-day pause in April stemming from reports of blood clots. Last month, Broward Commissioner Barbara Sharief said many of the state’s J&J shots were going unused. According to the Associated Press, a batch of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines also recently failed quality standards and can’t be used.
But Jamaica, which has so far only vaccinated only eight percent of its population, has found a use for the vaccine. Chairman of the National Health Fund, Howard Mitchell recently announced that the Jamaican government has secured 1.5 million doses, which will begin arriving in August. In the meantime, Jamaica will make use of the 55,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived on the island on May 31.
Some 155,000 Jamaicans have already received at least one dose of the vaccine. Mitchell said that the government is also banking on getting vaccines from the United States. President Joe Biden has committed to sharing the country’s surplus of vaccines with the world.
“We have assurances from the highest of the state department. We have assurances that Jamaica is a friend of the United States and that we are among the countries that are being considered. We hope that those assurances will be honored,” he said while speaking on the local Nationwide Radio.
In the meantime, the President of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, Dr. Mindi Fitz-Henley, says she is hopeful that Jamaica will achieve its target of herd immunity this year, now that the country has secured more vaccines.
Fitz-Henley also said that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is a single-dose shot, presents a much better outlook in vaccinating the Jamaican population.
