Tunisia To Buy 3.5 Million Doses Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

by PH July 6, 2021, 3:17 pm

UKRAINE – 2021/02/05: In this photo illustration a Johnson & Johnson logo is seen in front of a medical syringe and a vial with coronavirus vaccine. Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has asked regulators to authorize their COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the U.S. and also will apply to authorize to EU, reportedly by media. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tunisia said on Tuesday it will buy 3.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine directly from Johnson & Johnson, amid sharp criticism of the government for the slow pace of its vaccination campaign.

So far, only about 592,000 Tunisians have received the two doses of vaccine in the country of 11.6 million residents.

After successfully containing the virus in the first wave last year, Tunisia is grappling with a rise in infections. It imposed a lockdown in some cities since last week, but rejected a full national lockdown due to the economic crisis.