Venezuela To Receive Johnson & Johnson Vaccines Through COVAX

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday informed that his country expects to receive 5 million U.S. Johnson & Johnson vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX).

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"The World Health Organization (WHO) committed to send the doses by June. We hope that the schedule will be met," he said and explained that Venezuela paid US$120 million to receive the immunizer.

This acquisition will allow the vaccination of 5 million Venezuelan citizens, since Johnson and Johnson only takes one dose.

Maduro made this announcement one day after health authorities expanded the national vaccination campaign aiming to meet the goal of 22 million immunized citizens by December and achieve herd immunity.

"Despite the U.S. blockade and the economic crisis it has caused, Venezuela remains focused on protecting the people. We will spare no expense to guarantee our citizens' health," Maduro said.

This weekend, this South American country received 500,000 Sputnik-V doses, with which authorities will immunize the elderly and health workers.

Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million people, is facing a second wave of contagions. Since 2020, it has reported over 233,000 COVID-19 cases and 2,500 deaths from the disease.