US Ambassador announced the arrival of the vaccines from the Beirut airport. (Credit: @usembassybeirut)
BEIRUT — The first batch of an expected total of 613,340 COVID-19 vaccines donated by the United States arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, according to a statement released by the US Embassy.
Here’s what we know:
• As part of the COVAX program, the United States delivered a donation of 336,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine to Lebanon on Sunday in an effort to “support the continued fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” As a single-dose vaccine, this J&J donation can fully inoculate 336,000 Lebanese against COVID-19,” the statement reads.
• According to the statement, the J&J vaccines comprise the first of two vaccine donations from the United States. The second donation, of 277,340 doses of the Moderna vaccine, is scheduled to arrive later this week, bringing the total US commitment to 613,340 vaccine doses.
• “This COVID-related assistance is part of more than $372 million in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon in Fiscal Year 2021, bringing total US humanitarian assistance to Lebanon $2.9 billion since 2012,” the statement adds.
• US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea announced through a video released on Twitter the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines.