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The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development
Agency, (NPHCDA) Dr. Faisal Shuaib has hinted that President Muhammadu
Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will on Saturday be taking the
Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The NPHCDA boss disclosed this on Thursday during a briefing in Abuja.
He said the COVID-19 vaccination will be launched on Friday at the
National Hospital, Abuja.
Also, the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, will
be vaccinated on Saturday to increase confidence in the vaccines and
overcome vaccine hesitancy.
According to Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the actual time for the vaccination of
the President and Vice President on Saturday will be communicated soon.
He noted that members of the Federal Executive Council will be
vaccinated on Monday.
This comes barely 48 hours after Nigeria received its first batch of
COVID-19 vaccines.
The NAFDAC-approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines arrived at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around noon on Tuesday, via an
Emirates airline.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss
Mustapha, had earlier said that Nigeria will receive its first tranche
of about 4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines.
The Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire had also said that once the vaccines
arrive in the country, about 70% of the population is expected to be
inoculated within two years.
“We have been told to open an account with Afreximbank under the African
Union; we have done that already successfully because we are going to
pay for that part of the vaccine. The COVAX vaccine is free, at no cost
to us, it is made from donations,
“We want to immunise about 60 to 70% of our population. If COVAX
immunises 20, then we have about 40 to 50 to immunise within the next
two years. So, we have to pay for that minus any donations that we get
like the MTN donation, for example, all those ones reduce the quantities
that we have to purchase or any other that in future are given to us
free of charge”, ” Mr Ehanire said.
The minister made the comments on February 24, the same day that Ghana
became the first country to receive vaccines from COVAX- a global scheme
to procure and distribute Covid inoculations for free for poorer
countries.
The 600,000 doses delivered to Ghana were the Oxford/AstraZeneca
formula, made under license by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer,
the Serum Institute of India.
Meanwhile, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency on Monday
announced that Nigerians can now register for the COVID-19 vaccination
via its website.
“To register for #COVID19 Vaccination, visit our website
http://nphcda.gov.ng and click on ‘COVID-19 Vaccination e-registration,”
the agency said in a tweet.