Diplomats may be first in Lithuania to get Johnson & Johnson vaccine – ministry

VILNIUS – Diplomats may be the first group to get Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives in Lithuania in the second half of April, the chancellor of the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. 

"We all understand that there are groups of departing people, such as diplomats departing (for their foreign posts) on a rotational basis. It's difficult to ensure two vaccine shots for them, which makes the (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine the most attractive for this group", Jurgita Grebenkoviene told BNS. 

However, the ministry will seek to make the vaccine available to everyone who wants it, even though deliveries will be small in April, she added.

Johnson & Johnson has said it will start delivering its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to Europe on April 19. 

Lithuania is currently using the coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.