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Poland plans to bring single-dose J&J COVID-19 vaccines to homebound citizens

07.04.2021 08:00
Poland’s government has announced plans to administer US drug maker Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccines to homebound and bedridden citizens.
Michał Dworczyk, the man in charge of Polands COVID-19 vaccination campaign, seen on a screen during a virtual news conference.
Michał Dworczyk, the man in charge of Poland's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, seen on a screen during a virtual news conference.Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said last month that Poland had ordered 16 million doses of Johnson & Johnson shots and that the first shipments were expected to arrive in April.

Michał Dworczyk, the official spearheading Poland’s inoculation drive, told reporters on Tuesday that over 300,000 single-dose COVID-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson were scheduled to be delivered to Poland this month, including 117,000 doses between April 16 and 18 and 204,000 doses between April 26 and 28.

"So far, no decision has been made on where exactly these vaccines will be used, but most likely they will be given to people who are homebound and bedridden to make the vaccination process as smooth and trouble-free for them as possible, preferably limited to a single shot,” Dworczyk said.

He added that special mobile inoculation teams would visit such patients in their homes to inject the vaccines. 

Overall, more than 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from several producers are expected to be delivered to vaccination centres across Poland over the next two weeks, Dworczyk told a virtual news conference.

The European Union on March 11 approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine after a speedy review, raising hopes for stepped-up inoculation across the bloc.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP