The first batch of 132,000 doses of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived at the Juba International Airport on Thursday of 25th March, 2021 - Credit | UNICEF South Sudan | 25, March 2021

Health authorities have expressed confidence that South Sudan will complete administration of the remaining doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine before the expiry date.

The vaccine is set to expire this Sunday, July 18.

There are less than 2,000 does of the jab in stock, all of which are in Juba.

The government received 13, 2000 doses of the jab from the UK-based COVAX facility in April.

But the ministry of health traded off 72,000 of the doses with Kenya due to the low uptake by then.

According to the officials at the ministry, the vaccine uptake peaked in June this year as more than 40,000 people took the vials during the month.

Doctor Angelo Goup, the Chief of Operations of the Emergence Operations on COVID-19 spoke during the weekly briefing on Covid-19 on Sunday.

“We are remained with one thousand eight hundred doses. And these doses will finish before the end of July which is the date of expiration,” said Dr. Goup.

“These doses are mainly in Juba teaching hospital, and Juba military hospital. We have evacuated the doses from area where are there are low uptake back to Juba.”