The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja wore a carnival look on Tuesday as federal government officials filed out to welcome Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that landed with 3.94 million doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.
Dozens of Nigerian officials, wearing yellow high-visibility jackets and facemasks, met the flight delivering the vaccines on the airport tarmac.
The COVAX-shipped doses of the vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, arrived at the Abuja Airport from Mumbai around 11.30 am.
“I Am Here, Nigeria,” the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) tweeted.
“Nigeria has just received the first batch of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID—19 vaccine,” presidential aide Bashir Ahmad tweeted.
Chairman of the presidential task force on COVID-19 and secretary to the government of the federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the government expected to receive 84 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from COVAX this year, enough to inoculate 20 per cent of the population.
The government aims to start by vaccinating frontline healthcare workers, the highest-priority recipients, in Abuja on March 5, followed by strategic leaders on March 8.
A statement from the United Nations in Nigeria said the arrival marked a historic step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally.
UN resident coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, said, “The UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus.
“The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”
WHO representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo also remarked saying: “It is heart-warming to witness this epoch-making event and WHO wishes to congratulate the government of Nigeria for its participation in the global vaccine collaboration (COVAX) efforts and its commitment to protecting Nigerians against this pandemic.
“Vaccines are a critical new tool in the battle against COVID-19; therefore, this is a step in the right direction. These vaccines have undergone rigorous regulatory processes at global and country level and have been deemed safe and effective.”
Similarly, Mr. Thabani Maphosa, managing director for country programmes at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, described the delivery of the vaccine via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO as “landmark.”
“This is a landmark moment for the country and the COVAX Facility’s mission to help end the acute phase of the pandemic by enabling equitable access to these vaccines across the world. We are glad to see Nigeria is amongst the first receiving the doses from COVAX, thanks to the excellent level of preparedness put in place by the Government of Nigeria,”
“Gavi looks forward to these vaccines being made available to the people most at risk, as soon as possible, and to ensuring that routine immunization services for other life-threatening infections are also delivered to avoid other disease outbreaks,” he said.
Similarly, UNICEF country representative, Mr. Peter Hawkins, emphasised the importance of vaccines, adding that the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines into Nigeria was critical in curbing the pandemic.
“After a year of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, today we celebrate the efforts being made in getting the vaccine to Nigeria.
“With more than 150,000 Nigerians infected with the virus and over 1,800 lives lost, the path to recovery for the people of Nigeria can finally begin.
“This is a very significant occasion and the only way out of this crisis is to ensure that vaccinations are available to all,” Hawkins said.
