The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha revealed that Nigeria is expected to have received a total of 52 million vaccines by the second quarter of 2022.
The SGF disclosed this at the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 in Abuja, on Monday, stating that Nigeria currently has its disposal vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.
“The most potent way of getting out of this situation is through vaccines, which science and research have presented to us. I call on every eligible person to come out and be vaccinated.
“There are various choices now. We have AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and we expect Pfizer to be delivered very soon,” he said.
“There will be enough vaccines to go round soon. By the second quarter of 2022, we would have received about 52 million doses of the vaccines,” he added.
He revealed the FG is working on policies to ease travels for fully vaccinated Nigerians, including exploring the principles of reciprocity between Nigeria and other nations.
“For the time being, Nigerians are advised to always carry their vaccination card details or barcode on their electronic devices for easy access especially for those travelling outside the country.
“The ministries of Foreign Affairs and Aviation will continue to dialogue with the representatives of the UAE to resolve the issue of the Emirates flights between Nigeria and the UAE.
“The protection of the interest of Nigerians remains our primary focus,” he added.
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Nairametrics recently reported that the WHO stated the COVAX initiative has already achieved significant progress and hit major milestones. These achievements include the raising of more than US$10 billion, legally binding commitments for up to 4.5 billion doses of vaccine and the delivery of 240 million doses to 139 countries in just six months.
The statement further revealed that COVAX was unable to ensure that the most vulnerable people in the world get adequate vaccine supply due to a number of drawbacks including, export bans in some countries, prioritization of bilateral deals by manufacturers and countries, challenges in scaling up production by some key producers, and delays in filing for regulatory approval.
Going further, COVAX expects to have access to 1.43 billion doses of vaccine in 2021, and of these doses, approximately 1.2 billion will be supplied to the lower-income economies participating in the COVAX.
Meanwhile, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) explained that Nigerians who have received their covid vaccinations and still experience a “breakthrough infection” will only experience milder symptoms compared to those who were unvaccinated.