By Ife Osemedua
The Federal Government must ensure that it has made adequate provision for proper storage of COVID-19 vaccines and power supply before it proceeds to purchase them, former Senator, Shehu Sani, has cautioned.
There have been global concerns over the storage of the vaccines which need to be frozen at minus 70 degrees Celsius.
In a tweet posted Monday Morning, Sen. Sani stated: ”To the FG; Before you Credit N400 Billion to #COVID19 vaccine manufacturers, make adequate provisions for storage facilities & emergency power supply that can preserve them at minus 70 degree Celsius. It’s not our normal fridge wo, ehen.”
The Federal Government on Monday disclosed that about N400 billion is needed for the importation of COVID-19 vaccines at $8 per person.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this when he and his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, appeared before the Senate leadership last week.
Ehanire explained that the N400 billion would cater for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s 211 million population, adding that N156 billion would be needed in 2021, while N200 billion will be required in 2022.
The Minister said the country, which has successfully fought polio, would use the same storage facilities (cold chains) to store the COVID-19 vaccines.
Ehanire also added that the government was meeting with multinational manufacturers and on the right cooling infrastructure to store the vaccines when they are acquired. He told the lawmakers that the ministry had trained staff as well.
However, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, expressed doubt over the ability of the ministry to effectively store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive the country.