Nigeria takes delivery of COVID-19 vaccines shipped by COVAX

Nigeria on Tuesday morning received about 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The arrival of the vaccines marked a historic step towards ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, in what will be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history.

According to the authorities, more vaccines will come into the country in the coming days and weeks.

COVAX shipped 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), from Mumbai to Abuja.

“The UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus,” said Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria. “The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”

The COVID-19 vaccine will enable the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to commence the vaccination of Nigerians in priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers.

“This is a landmark moment for the country and the COVAX Facility’s mission to help end the acute phase of the pandemic by enabling equitable access to these vaccines across the world. We are glad to see Nigeria is amongst the first receiving the doses from COVAX, thanks to the excellent level of preparedness put in place by the Government of Nigeria,” said Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director for Country Programs at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

“Gavi looks forward to these vaccines being made available to the people most at risk, as soon as possible, and to ensuring that routine immunization services for other life-threatening infections are also delivered to avoid other disease outbreaks.”

Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative in Nigeria, said: “It is heart-warming to witness this epoch-making event and WHO wishes to congratulate the government of Nigeria for its participation in the global vaccine collaboration (COVAX) efforts and its commitment to protecting Nigerians against this pandemic. Vaccines are a critical new tool in the battle against COVID-19; therefore, this is a step in the right direction.

These vaccines have undergone rigorous regulatory processes at global and country level and have been deemed safe and effective.”

The COVAX Facility is expected to deliver around 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the African Region in the first quarter of 2021 and has committed to providing up to 600 million doses to the region by end-2021 to cover 20 per cent of the population.