The executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said on Tuesday that the federal government would receive a shipment of 3.92 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine between late July and early August.
Shuaib who disclosed at a press briefing in Abuja while giving an update on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, said the government had resumed vaccination of first dose in anticipation of the receipt of the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines.
“We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92m doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca by end of July or early August.
“We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca by end of July or early August. As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details of this,” he said.
While working with Nigeria’s international partners to confirm the next shipment of vaccines to Nigeria, Shuaib said the federal government had re-commenced administering the first dose of the vaccine which was earlier halted due to shortage.
Assessing the impact of AstraZeneca vaccine so far, the executive director said a recent research from Public Health England (PHE) showed that the Indian (Delta) variant B.1.617.2 is 92 per cent susceptible to Oxford-AstraZeneca.
He said it is comforting that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against the variant that caused high morbidity and mortality in India.
“However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination to more Nigerians.
“As you all are aware, hesitancy towards the second dose is very tied to the continued misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccination programme globally and locally,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the recent meeting of the G7 meeting, Shuaib said the leaders of major and rich countries had become increasingly aligned with the thinking that inequality cannot continue.
“Not only because it is a moral failure but because it is strategically unwise for their own efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic. On the final day of the summit, leaders committed to delivering at least one billion coronavirus vaccine doses to the world over the next year. While this will not close the enormous gap that exists today, it is a positive step and we welcome the new focus.
“Additionally, President Biden announced on the eve of the summit that the US will purchase 500 million doses of the Pfizer-bioNTech vaccine and donate to low- and middle-income countries through the next year.
“This pledge is by far the largest yet by one country. These doses will be distributed via Covax.
“We welcome this announcement and encourage other nations with the means to follow the US’ example so that we, as a global community, can move forward from COVID-19 swiftly,” he said.
With Vanguard report
