The U.S. Embassy in Dakar is pleased to announce the arrival of 151,200 Johnson and Johnson Janssen COVID-19 vaccination doses donated by the United States Government. This timely and important donation is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s global efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The donated vaccines are part of the U.S. pledge to initially provide at least 15 million of 80 million doses globally with Africa. The U.S. government coordinated closely with the African Union and Africa CDC on the country allocations. The vaccine doses will arrive via COVAX in Dakar on July 20.
This donation will help protect the Senegalese people from the ravages of the COVID-19 virus and begin reducing barriers to building back the Senegalese economy.
“Long before COVID-19 presented a threat to the world, the U.S. government has worked with Senegal to support the health of the Senegalese. The United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) constructed the Centre des Opérations de Crise du Senegal (COUS) which served as the headquarters for managing the COVID-19 crisis. Since the pandemic began, our Centers for Disease Control (CDC) team has been on the front lines with the Ministry of Health in helping and advising the Ministry on best practices to face the pandemic. USAID has provided Senegal $8,132,000 to slow the spread of the virus, mitigate its impact, boost disease surveillance efforts, improve care for affected individuals, and pave the way for mass immunization campaigns. We recently signed an agreement Senegal, the European Union, the International Finance Corporation, and other partners for the production of COVID-19 vaccines in Senegal, proof that our long-term partnership bears useful results,” said Ambassador Tulinabo S. Mushingi. “The United States is proud to be the largest donor to the COVAX global initiative on COVID-19.”
These 151,200 doses are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to share U.S. vaccine supply with the world. As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at home and work to end the pandemic worldwide, President Biden has promised that the United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world.
As President Biden said, “From the beginning of my presidency, we have been clear-eyed that we need to attack this virus globally, as well. This is about our responsibility — our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can — and our responsibility to our values. We’re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic, working alongside our global partners.”