Vaccination service providers are basically no longer ordering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine - Juhnevica

RIGA - Due to the drop in demand, Covid-19 vaccination providers are almost no longer ordering Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), Eva Juhnevica, head of the National Health Service's Vaccination Project Division, told TV3 this morning.

She emphasized that all last year Latvia was in a privileged situation, which is still the case, because as soon as the vaccine supply system was in place, all vaccines approved in the European Union became available in the country.

"Resident have the opportunity to choose which vaccine they want, and it is still possible to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but we see that people are no longer choosing it," Juhnevica said.

She is convinced that people are aware that this vaccine is less effective. "As soon as there were reports that the vaccine also had a shorter period after which a booster vaccination was needed, we saw a change in public sentiment," said the head of the Vaccination Project Division.

Commenting on possibly discontinuing the use of this vaccine in the future, she said "there are such ideas". "Currently, this vaccine is still available to us, we have it in stock. But in principle, this vaccine is hardly being ordered from vaccination service providers anymore," Juhnevica explained.

The vaccine is still in stock in medical facilities and there are still people who receive the vaccine every day.

Juhnevica admitted that the demand for vaccines is falling, therefore the operation of large vaccination centers will be adjusted accordingly.