Boss Mustapha Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19
Nigeria has kicked off a phase two vaccination campaign of its people after it took delivery of 177,600 Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines this month in the capital, Abuja.
The country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) anchored the event, at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja
Alongside the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines which were procured through the African Union, the country also received 4,800,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the United States of America.
With the flag off, Nigeria keyed into the collaboration between the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), COVAX, and the US government, to vaccinate at least 60 percent of the African population with 25 million doses of vaccines.
Speaking at the kickoff of the second phase of vaccination, Nigeria’s food control agency, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) urged Nigerians to get vaccinated because it has been tested safe for use.
Director-General of the NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC said, “[s]o you can ask yourself, why should I take the vaccine, because NAFDAC satisfy it, why should I take the vaccine, because NAFDAC worked around the clock to ensure that the health of Nigerians is premium in whatever we do. Why should I take the vaccine, because NAFDAC is the only agency in the world that is using track and trace to monitor where the vaccines goes.
“When the Moderna vaccines came from the U.S. we knew that the bar coding was not complete. So we had to have an emergency meeting to ensure we put the bar code in place.
“But it’s not just that, anything that comes into Nigeria, we have to test it. That is why you should go and take your vaccines, because we spend so much time on it.
“When you take your vaccine you may have a little of fever or rash but not to worry, we have the med safety app you can download it from Google.
“So if you have iPhone or android, you can download it, you can self-report the part of side effects.
“Why is that so important? This is important because as regulators, we have to recall what side effects are being reported across the world, so that we can save the health of people going forward,” Adeyeye explained.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General, Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), advised the citizens to implore patience with healthcare workers who have been at the frontline since the pandemic broke out.
He said, “[a]s we celebrate the acquisition of these vaccines today and begin the second phase of distribution, I’d like to acknowledge all the healthcare workers across our country that have been working so hard in this response.
“As they continue working hard, I ask Nigerians to please keep supporting them to deliver on these boxes, as we start queuing up from tomorrow to get vaccinated.
“Please be patient with our colleagues, line up carefully, they will get to everyone across every state in Nigeria, health care workers are preparing, as we speak, to deliver these vaccines to Nigerians, let us work with them, let’s support them, let’s encourage them,” he appealed.”
