The Federal Government has announced that it will commence the administration of the second batch of Covid-19 vaccines that it just took delivery of, on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in Abuja.
The latest tranche is the over 4 million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines donated by the United States government.
This disclosure is contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on Covid-19, Mr Willie Bassey, on Saturday, August 7, 2021.
What the spokesman of PSC on Covid-19 said
Bassey said that the second batch of the vaccines will boost Nigeria’s efforts in its battle against the third wave of coronavirus infections.
He said, ‘’As you are aware, the PSC has received over four million doses of Moderna vaccine donated by the U.S. Government to Nigeria. In view of the above, the inoculation is scheduled from Tuesday, August 10, at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, off Airport road, Abuja.”
What you should know
It can be recalled that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Nigeria last week and was received on behalf of the government by officials of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
The vaccine, which was received at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, had since been handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for screening.
The Moderna vaccines, which were earlier approved by NAFDAC in July, are expected to boost the country’s vaccination programme.
Nigeria had earlier kicked off its Covid-19 vaccination program in April after receiving 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX initiative.
COVAX was set up to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, particularly to low-income countries, and has already delivered over 80 million doses to 129 territories.
Last month, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it had detected the Delta variant, putting officials on alert for the third wave of infections in the country.
