The Federal Government on Tuesday took delivery of the promised 3.9 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to protect Nigerians from the deadly claws of the pandemic.
This is the first batch of the 16 million expected vaccines through the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) led COVAX facility.
According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), “History is being made as Nigeria takes delivery of about 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccine today in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
“On hand to receive it, the Chairman PTF on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, Hon. Minister of Health, Hon. Minister for Information, Our ED, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, DG NAFDAC, DG NCDC, Ambassadors and Development Partners.
“Dr. Faisal Shuaib could barely hide his excitement and happiness as he welcomed guests. Nigeria is grateful to the COVAX Facility for making this a reality for all Nigerians. With the vaccine, Nigeria will be joining other countries to combat further spread of the virus.”
Expressing his excitement, the Executive Director/CEO of the NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, via his twitter handle, said: “Today is a good day for Nigeria. Thanks to our team who have worked hard in preparation for this moment, we are ready to start administering doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline health workers.
“Almost 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is a strong start and I want to thank Covax’s international partners for supporting this facility.
“There remains a huge amount of work ahead, and it requires a truly global effort – there is no such thing as partial eradication of covid-19.”
