Nigeria receives 4 m Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine doses from US Government

*Authorities have implored Nigerians to get vaccinated and take responsibility to minimise the impact of the Coronavirus on themselves, their families and communities

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

With a view to boosting the ongoing vaccinations in the country, the Federal Government Monday, August 2, 2021, received four million and eighty doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine doses donated by the Biden-Harris administration of the United States (US).

ConsumerConnect reports the virus vaccines, delivered through the COVAX facility, a vaccine alliance aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines globally, had earlier arrived in Abuja, FCT, around 2:15 a.m. Sunday, August 1.

The government was said to have received and stored the donated vaccines at the National Strategic Cold Store near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA

Recall that United States Joe Biden, May this year had pledged to share 80 million vaccines produced in the US with countries around the world to protect the most vulnerable and limit spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Of these 80 million, Africa is expected to receive 25 million, with the first shipments to Burkina Faso, Djibouti, and Ethiopia which had already been delivered.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), while addressing reporters Monday in Abuja, disclosed that the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, had acquired 60 ultra-cold chain equipment ahead of the arrival of the vaccines in the country.

Shuiab stated that that PSC has since allocated an ultra-cold chain equipment to each of the 36 states of the Federation.

In his remark on the donation, Mr. Gayle Smith, State Department’s Coordinator for COVID-19 recovery and global health in the US, noted that the 25 million vaccines were donated to 49 African countries in partnership with the African Union (AU) and COVAX.

According to Smith, the Biden administration is committed to leading the global response to the pandemic by providing safe and effective vaccines against the COVID-19 to the world.

On questions on whether those who took the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines could take from the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine brand types just received, the NPHCDA Executive Director and CEO said: “That is not the recommendation of the WHO, and that is not what we are going to be doing in Nigeria.

“For those who have taken the first dose of AstraZeneca, we are expecting in a week or so additional consignment of AstraZeneca vaccines that we will give as second doses.”

Nigeria is expecting about 700,000 doses in the coming week and another 4.9 million doses by mid-August, Shuaib said.

According to him, “we now have a large menu that Nigerians can choose from.”

COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria

He further noted that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has to certify that the vaccines are good and safe for Nigerians.

“NAFDAC has taken samples of the vaccine for testing and we expect that in the next 48 hours, they will give us feedback as to whether we are good to go,” he added.

According to him, the agency will work with the private sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) in order to deliver the vaccines at the state levels.

The vaccines received are valid until December 2021 and January 2022 and that the two doses will be given four weeks apart, Shuaib said.

Melissa Freeman, Deputy Director, Health, Population and Nutrition Office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), represented the US Government.

Likewise, Paul Hawkins, the country representative for UNICEF, on the occasion, implored Nigerians to get vaccinated and take responsibility to minimise the impact of the coronavirus on not only themselves but on their families and communities.