PTF targets 20m doses of COVID-19 vaccine

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 says Nigeria is working toward getting 20 million doses of vaccine on first installment when the country begins to receive vaccines from other parts of the world.

The Minister Of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who stated this at the COVID-19 briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said the first set of beneficiaries would be health workers who were exposed to the risk of infection on daily basis.

Ehanire also said that any vaccine that would be administered in the country, would be subjected to certification by World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Agency For Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The minister explained that the Federal Government was also working with the National Assembly (NASS) to set aside funds for vaccines as vaccines were being rolled out.

He added that “the first set of candidate vaccines are ready to be rolled out in Europe and the USA, and a technical working group led by the National Primary Health Development Agency is working on evaluation of prospective vaccines and Nigeria’s vaccine needs.

“We are working with the World Health Organisation and GAVI-led Covax facility and other stakeholders, to ensure that Nigeria gets quality vaccines, when they are deployed.

“We also continue to explore all avenues of getting access to additional vaccines and in that connection, met with Ambassador of United Arab Emirate in Nigeria to discuss cooperation in access to vaccine technology and production.

“He reaffirmed the support of his country for our response to the pandemic,” the minister said.