The Ministry of Health in Monrovia announces the arrival of an additional 108, 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines today, Friday, September 3, 2021, at the Roberts International Airport in Margibi County via Air Brussels to buttress the ongoing vaccination exercise.

"Today, I'm pleased to announce here that we will be receiving the first of the World Bank's procurement, under this agreement, 3,086, 452 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines were procured and from that number, we will be receiving a total of 108,000 doses", says the program manager for the Expanded Program on Immunization at the Ministry of Health, Adolphus Clarke.

Making the disclosure Thursday, September 02, 2021at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing in Monrovia, he said since December 2020, the government has made significant strides in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Clarke explains that the government has engaged partners, including the World Bank Group, and reached an agreement to secure about US$8 Million to acquire COVID-19 vaccines for the country.

He also reveals a total of 36,788 persons have been vaccinated in Montserrado County, while other counties are gearing up to receive the jabs across the country.

He says the ministry is making sure to get more females vaccinated, as their male counterparts, adding that before MoH mobile team gets to any institution or community to administer the vaccine, there must be a consent of about 40 persons above age 18.

Assistant Minister of Health for statistics and head of contact tracing, Chea Sanford Wesseh applauds the efforts of health care workers, foot soldiers, and county health officers for their commitment to duty.

Mr. Wesseh notes that since the outbreak started in March 2020, the ministry has tested more than 158,000 specimens with cumulative confirmed cases at 5,728 against 5,333 recoveries, 106 active cases, and 283 deaths.

He notes the highest case rate experienced thus far came as a result of the third wave of the virus when in a period of two months, the ministry recorded 3,249 cases, representing 56 percent of the total case count.

Meanwhile, he says there are few counties still battling the virus and calls for collective effort to break transmission in communities.

The Assistant Minister names counties in response, countdown, and preparedness, including Grand Kru, Sinoe, Rivercess, Gbarpolu, and Bomi, respectively, adding these counties had cases before but they have recovered and gone 28 days without any fresh case.

He continues that Lofa, Bong, Margibi, and Grand Bassa Counties are in the countdown, which means they just discharged their last case and are progressing towards a 28 incubation period.

However, Maryland County has three (3) confirmed cases and a follow-up contact; Rivergee, 13 cases with nine (9) of those cases in the treatment unit, while Grand Gedeh County has three (3) confirmed cases in a treatment facility with 18 follow-up contacts, according to Wesseh.

Meanwhile, he says Nimba County tops the list with 39 confirmed cases, involving Ivoirian refugees that are set to be repatriated, while Grand Cape Mount County has three (3) cases that are going to be tested, and Montserrado County is in full preparedness with two cases at the government treatment unit Star Base on Bushrod Island, a suburb of Monrovia.

Copyright The New Dawn. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English