The Nigerian government says there is no illegal vaccine available anywhere in the country.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, gave the clarification at a press briefing in Abuja.
He noted that the media reports that seem to suggest that Nigeria is delaying the rollout of the vaccines due to documentations of the vaccine are not correct.
“On the contrary the reason why we had to extend/postpone the launch date of the vaccine is because we want to institute once again in conjunction with NAFDAC the track and trace all the way to health facility where the vaccines would be administered.
This means that we are locally creating labels for the vaccines barcode that will ensure that this tracking and tracing continues just like we did in the 1st phase. Consequently, we want to call on all Nigerians to remain assured that the vaccines that we have are safe and will be deployed next week as earlier communicated. The flag off and roll out of the 2nd phase of the COVID-19 Vaccination program will be done on August 16th, 2012, ” he said.
He advised media houses while writing their stories, to please put the interest of Nigerians and Nigeria first.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure that all those around us at home, at the office, in our places of worship, get vaccinated so that we can collectively overcome this pandemic. It does not help when incorrect information is spread by the media.
While we appreciate your understanding and the patience of the Nigerian public, it is important to mention that the delay witnessed in the rollout of the vaccine is as a result of our continued commitment to work with our partners and other agencies to ensure that when we roll out the vaccines they are as successful as what we witnessed during the 1st phase of the vaccination rollout,” Dr Faisal said.
He noted that the vaccines available in Nigeria are safe.
He said that in the 1st phase of vaccination rollout, the collaboration between NAFDAC and NPHCDA led to the first ever tracking and tracing of vaccines globally.
“This tracking and tracing of vaccines from the National level to subnational level and then to the point of administration was conducted for the first time in Nigeria as well. This is an innovative mechanism that made it possible for us to clearly monitor our stock from the National Strategic Cold store in Abuja all the way to where the vaccines are being administered. This has never happened before in Nigeria. This is why when we had said we had finished the 1st phase of the vaccination on the 9th of July, it was that there were no vaccines available anywhere and this kind of accountability is what we want to replicate in the phase 2 of the vaccination rollout. This as a result of the leadership provided by the Presidential Steering Committee, FMOH, NAFDAC, NCDC and of course the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA),” the Executive Director said.
The ED also noted that the agency was currently wrapping up the training of about 40,739 health workers across the National, State and Ward level on the phase 2 strategic vaccine roll out plan with focus on improving the delivery, communication, data management, management of the vaccines and logistics that are needed.
He said that a total of 3363 teams would be used, while 2690 teams manning the fixed post and 673 manning temporary fixed post which will go from settlement to settlement especially around areas where people would congregate, for example the houses of the traditional leaders, the markets and motor parks.
He said “While we are hopeful and well prepared to roll out the 2nd Phase vaccination plan, we are by no means oblivious of the fact that there are challenges ahead, especially now that the country has started receiving different brands of COVID-19 vaccines. We are aware that Nigerians would want to know if there is a preferred brand. Let me assure everyone that COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of brand, as long as they have been approved by NAFDAC, provide adequate protection against the disease. We want to further assure Nigerians that we have strategized with our partners so that there is no confusion on which vaccines will be given to whom. For example, all those who have taken their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccines and are due for their 2nd dose would be given their 2nd dose in this month of August as we are expecting up to 588,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX facility.
This is the first batch that will be coming in the next couple of days, thereafter we will be expecting up to 3.9million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to complement what we already have and to make sure we cover not only those who will be taking their 2nd AstraZeneca vaccine but also for those who will want to take their 1st dose of this vaccine.
He adds that in all communications, they have been cleared that the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines were effective against the Delta variant as cases are beginning to increase in States like Lagos and Akwa Ibom.
Lateefah Ibrahim
