From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Federal Government, yesterday, took has delivery of 2,649,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Canadian Government to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19.
Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, who received the consignment on behalf of the Federal Government in Abuja, said the donation came when it was most needed, as Nigeria is rapidly ramping up full vaccination coverage, adding that the single-dose regimen of the J&J vaccine will enable Nigeria move rapidly towards achieving stronger immunity for its population.
“We are leveraging on our polio eradication experience to fight COVID-19, and we are sure that, with the kind of support received from the Canadian government and the continued cooperation of our partners and stakeholders, we would, sooner than expected, put COVID-19 behind us in Nigeria.”
He made reference to the recently launched SCALES 3.0 programme which offers opportunity for childhood vaccination and other Primary Health Care (PHC) services for clients alongside the COVID-19 vaccination.
He explained: “What this simply means is that parents can take their eligible children for vaccination against polio, yellow fever, measles and other vaccine preventable childhood diseases in the same locations where the adults receive COVID-19 vaccines.
“Our mobile teams are also in possession of all these vaccines when they visit homes. The recent MIC/NIC survey results show that despite the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria was among few countries, globally, that recorded improved immunization coverage, thanks to parents and guidance who presented their children for vaccination despite difficulties and challenges faced during the lockdown and limited access to health facilities.
“As at Thursday, August 18th 2022; 40,700,979 Nigerians have received the first dose of COVID-19 while 28,659,698 persons have been fully vaccinated. This represents 25.6 per cent of the eligible population. Similarly, 2,666,830 of the fully vaccinated persons have received their booster doses. We enjoin states to step up actions to flag-off the SCALES 3.0 strategy and follow with intensive actions to ensure that every eligible adult and child are vaccinated.”
He confirmed that Federal Government has also designed a performance-based incentive to improve uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and other PHC services in the states and the communities.