The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA, says Nigeria’s COVID-19 vaccination status has not changed.
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The Executive Director National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, says Nigeria is not among the red listed countries that need to mandatory quarantine for 14 days in a supervised UK facility.
” The statement released by the UK Government is in line with the Press statement released last week that Nigerians will continue to isolate upon arrival to the UK. This is similar to our requirement to have travellers from the UK, isolate for seven days upon arrival in Nigeria. The Presidential Steering Committee is in the process of reviewing these requirements. We have been in touch with the UK Government. Just like they stated clearly in their communication, the current listing of Countries with approved vaccination certification has just started in the UK. They are reviewing the Country’s programs in phases. If you go through the list of 50 closely, No African country made the list. The UK Government is yet to comprehensively review Nigeria’s vaccination certification program”. Dr. Shuaib said.
He said that from his communication with the UK Government officials, the vaccines administered in Nigeria are approved by the UK Government.
“They are also involved with the vaccination program in Nigeria through the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and they are optimistic that by the time Nigeria’s COVID-19 vaccination program certification is assessed, it will be approved. There are many Countries in the World, so we, like many other Countries are in the queue for this assessment. Once it gets to our turn, we are more likely than not to get approved in the coming weeks. Like the UK Government has clearly stated, the process of assessment would occur in phases”. Dr Shuaib said.
He also said that in recent weeks, Nigeria has intensified campaigns for the uptake of second dose using multiple media strategies, stakeholders, and community engagement, and these have yielded appreciable results.
He noted that more work needs to be collectively done to improve vaccine uptake.
” We will continue to engage with citizens to promote a more rapid uptake of the vaccines much as we will continue to count on your professional support to see that people are adequately protected against COVID-19“. He said.
The Executive Director also informed Nigerians that “yesterday evening, we received 501,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility as donation from the Government of France. We have also gotten confirmation that we will be receiving 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer vaccines within the next two weeks”.
He also said that in the coming months, Nigeria will be receiving more doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility.
“We anticipate that the vaccines will be quite large in amount, and therefore will require more efficient and faster ways of utilizing them including expanding access to the vaccines. We have therefore started implementing the decentralisation of vaccine utilisation by involving the private sector in the vaccine administration. Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are available at Government health facilities only. As we decentralize, private health facilities who meet the set criteria will be allocated COVID-19 vaccines, after due training of their immunization service providers. Vaccinations in private health facility will continue with the help of Government health officials. Subsequently, clients will be able to access COVID-19 vaccines at both government and private health care facilities in the country. This will be done at different levels which would include the States and Local Governments.We are taking every caution to ensure that when implemented, the decentralization policy is not corrupted. Private health care facilities will be carefully selected based on transparent eligibility criteria, and supervision will be maximized to ensure discipline and compliance with safety measures.The goal, as I said is to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines and to ensure rapid and safe vaccine utilization“. He added.
On his part, the World Health Organization Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo, said that Nigeria is an exemplary nation globally in terms of COVID-19 vaccination success story.
“I appreciate what Nigeria has done. Nigeria has rolled out guidelines for other countries to follow”. Mulombo said.
He also said that the WHO is discussing the possibility of rolling out a mission to Nigeria to learn what Nigeria has done in the area of vaccine roll-out.
“I would also like to reiterate that WHO has not made vaccination a criteria for entering any country“. Dr. Mulombo said.
He urged all countries to remember the international air regulations and respect human rights.
Similarly, a representative of UNICEF Dorothy Ocholi, commended Nigeria on the number of people being vaccinated in the country.
She said that the number of people taking the vaccine has increased and it is very commendable.
“We still need to increase the number being vaccinated to meet the target. COVID-19 vaccination is being integrated into the routine vaccination”. Dr. Ocholi said.
She added that UNICEF will continue to work with Nigeria to make sure they meet the vaccination target.
Meanwhile, the NPHCDA also says that as at yesterday, the 4th of October 2021, Nigeria had vaccinated 4,963,985 eligible persons across the country with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines.
It says the figure represents 4.4% of the targeted 111,776,503 eligible population.
About 2,166,186 people have received their second doses of the vaccines. This means that approximately 1.9% of the eligible population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
