Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) has expressed worry with the low turnout of people who have received Jonson & Jonson (J&J) vaccine during its first week of vaccination exercise.

Just like in other areas, the district rolled out the vaccination exercise of J&J on Monday but the turnout of people has been low as compared to the period when the district was administering Astrazeneca vaccine.

Speaking to Yoneco online, Blantyre DHO spokesperson, Chrissy Banda, said during the administration of the second phase of Astrazeneca vaccine, the district was vaccinating about 10 thousand people per day but with J&J vaccine only about six thousand people had received the jab as of Thursday which was the fourth day since the exercise rolled out.

Banda said: “The turnout in Blantyre district has been low since we started on Monday and we think that people are not confident with the new vaccine (J&J) just as what was happening during the first phase of Astrazeneca vaccine.”

She has therefore assured the public that the efficacy of J&J vaccine is not different from the Astrazeneca despite the new jab (J&J) being recommended to be administered twice unlike the Astrazeneca.

Blantyre DHO received 20, 900 doses of J&J and is being administered in 37 centres.

Meanwhile the country is expected to receive 11, 040 doses of Astrazeneca vaccine today (Saturday) in the afternoon.