By Deborah Hassan
About four million doses of COVAX facilitated COVID-19 vaccine arrived Nigeria on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 via a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.
The first consignment of Oxford Astrazeneca Covid-19 Vaccine is one of many expected to arrive in the country in the coming weeks.
The 3.94 million doses of the vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, was shipped from Mumbai to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Making the announcement, the United Nations in Nigeria said the it was a historic step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, 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.”
Prior to its arrival, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had said it would commence the vaccination of Nigerians in priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers. It has also thrown its registration open for registration for Covid-19 vaccination.
Managing Director for Country Programmes at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Thabani Maphosa, “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.”
On his part, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Nigeria, stated, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, , “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.