The United States government on Thursday delivered 604,800 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to Algeria through the COVAX program. The donation will help Algeria accelerate its vaccination process, which is key to controlling the pandemic, slowing the emergence of new variants, and helping to restart the global economy.
“This donation is part of the United States’ commitment to sharing resources in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe,” said Charge D’Affaires Gautam Rana said during the delivery ceremony at Algiers Houari Boumediene Airport. “Proven safe and effective vaccines are our most effective tool in combating the pandemic and the United States is proud to support COVAX, which only uses vaccines that have been rigorously tested and robustly proven to be safe and effective. Millions of Americans have taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, and it is one of the three vaccines which our employees at the United States Embassy have been taking. The Johnson & Johnson is the only one-shot vaccine meaning each dose will fully vaccinate one person. We’re proud of the fact that this donation will help fully vaccinate 604,800 Algerians.”
The United States is the largest contributor to COVAX, having already contributed $2 billion with an additional $2 billion planned, to the worldwide equitable vaccine access initiative.
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has provided more than $6.6 million in aid to Algeria. The United States recently also delivered and installed a $2.6 million state-of-the-art field hospital and trained Algerian professionals on how the hospital can be transported and installed where it is most needed. A second American-made field hospital is scheduled for delivery to the Algerian Ministry of Health in the coming months.
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