From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government, yesterday, took delivery of 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines and 175 solar direct drive refrigerators from the Japanese government through the COVAX facility.
Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, who received the consignment on behalf the Federal Government appreciated the Japanese government for the support, assuring that the vaccines and the refrigerator would be judiciously deployed to serve the people.
He expressed the optimism that the donation would aid COVID-19 response in Nigeria. He said Nigeria has successfully vaccinated 17,914,944 eligible persons with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines representing 16 per cent of the eligible population targeted for vaccination in Nigeria.
“The donation of 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines bolsters the global effort to defeat the coronavirus pandemic and demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the global community to ensuring Nigeria receives the vaccines it needs. We are particularly happy about the Solar Direct Drive (SDD) refrigerators because of their advantages in independent and uninterrupted power source for vaccine storage. They would help retain the potency of the vaccine. We have since deployed the SDDs to 24 states of the federation based on vaccine coverage, equity and making sure we reach the last mile.
Faisal promised that they would continue to work with stakeholders, partners and communities to ensure an inclusive campaign that stems on the transparency and accountability principles of the Federal Government.
“Our experience of low uptake of the second dose makes Johnson and Johnson vaccine very helpful for a more rapid vaccination progress in Nigeria. Also, the availability of the AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the Japanese Government helps a long way in making available doses of the vaccines for those who are yet to take their second doses,” he said.
Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi said the gesture was to support the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. He said they observed that storage of vaccines was a problem in Nigeria, hence the decision to procure and supply the refrigerators to help in the proper storage of the vaccines.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr. Walter Mulombo, in his remarks, appreciated the effort of the Federal Government as regards its responses to COVID-19.