National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says Nigeria is expecting to get 42 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to help battle the raging virus in the country.
Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Noting that the 42 million doses would only cover 40 per cent of the country’s population, the health agency director added that 100,000 doses of the vaccines would be received by the country at the end of this month.
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Shuaib said;
Through Covax facility, we expect to receive apprioximately 100,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of January. A letter announcing this allocation is being expected this week.
Also through Covax facility, Nigeria is expected to secure free delivery of 42 million doses of vaccines, which will be a combination of all the available and approved vaccines currently in the market.
The COVAX scheme was set up to provide vaccines to poorer countries such as Nigeria, whose 200 million people and poor infrastructure pose a daunting challenge to medical officials rolling out the vaccinations, as the West African country battles a second, larger spike in coronavirus cases.
According to him, the vaccines would first be given to frontline health workers, first responders, national leaders, people vulnerable to coronavirus and the elderly.
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He revealed;
In order to achieve eradication of COVID-19 in Nigeria, we need to cover 70 per cent of the total population with COVID-19 vaccines. Forty per cent will be vaccinated in 2021, while 30 per cent will be covered in 2022.
Nigeria will first inoculate frontline health workers, first responders, national leaders, people vulnerable to coronavirus and the elderly.
Shuaib however noted that Nigeria must educate its citizens on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination, adding; “We fear what we don’t understand”.
