200,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine by June end

MUSCAT: Oman is expected to receive 200,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine by the end of June or the beginning of July 2021, said Dr Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health.

By the end of March 2021, Oman is likely to receive thousands of doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Al Saidi said, adding that coordination is under way among governments of the world to regulate the distribution of vaccines.

The minister added that, through the 190-strong international vaccine alliance of states, more than 240,000 doses of different vaccines are scheduled to arrive in the Sultanate from mid-March to the beginning of May 2021.

Oxford-AstraZeneca

The Ministry of Health is exerting efforts to receive one million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, said Dr. Ahmed, noting that a contract will be signed to add 500,000 more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech.

Pfizer-BioNTech

The minister pointed out that the biggest hurdle towards receiving vaccines is not the financial position, but rather the delay from vaccine producing countries. The Sultanate has so far received a total of 180,000 doses, of which 80,000 were PfizerBioNTech and 100,000 OxfordAstraZeneca.

Vaccine supply is a common challenge to all countries of the world, said Dr. Ahmed, adding that the Sultanate approached many international companies, but it will not endorse any medicine before checking its validity, safety and efficiency.

The minister regretted the fact that some shunned vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca. He reaffirmed that the Sultanate will not receive any vaccine or medical drug before checking that it is safe and secure for human consumption.