Nigeria to receive approximately 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

The federal government has announced that Nigeria is scheduled to receive 3.92 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, March 2.

The delivery will mark the first arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country and will make Nigeria the next West African country to benefit from the COVAX Facility after Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

A statement from Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and CEO of NPHCDA, reads in part:

“The arrival of this vaccine is the result of the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of His Excellency President Muhammandu Buhari, the support of the Presidential Working Group on COVID-19 and the advice of the Honorable Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.

“We are fully prepared to receive and deliver the vaccine to eligible Nigerians as we have started training health workers and ensuring that cold chain facilities are ready at all levels. We have a robust cold chain system capable of storing all types of COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with the required temperature. We are therefore confident that we will have a very effective deployment of the vaccine, starting with our critical health workers, who are on the front line to provide the care we all need, ”added Dr Shuaib.

The AstraZeneca vaccine delivery is one of a total of 16 million doses expected to be delivered to Nigeria in batches over the next few months by the COVAX Facility, as part of an unprecedented global effort to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Nigeria plans to vaccinate at least 70% of eligible Nigerians aged 18 and over in four phases within two years.