shippingposition
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
    • Vox Pop
  • Maritime safety
  • Oil and Gas
  • Personality
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
shippingposition

Home » COVID-19: Nigeria To Stick With Astrazeneca Vaccine Based On WHO Assessment

COVID-19: Nigeria To Stick With Astrazeneca Vaccine Based On WHO Assessment

by Joshua
February 14, 2021
in Health

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says Nigeria will stick with AstraZeneca vaccine based on its epidemiological and equity assessment done by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, made the disclosure at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja.

“As earlier communicated, Nigeria is no longer expecting the 100,000 doses of the Pfizer/BIONtech vaccine through the COVAX facility but has been allocated about 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“This was based on epidemiological and equity assessment done by WHO.

“These vaccine will be arriving in batches, starting by late February, “ Shuaib said.

He noted that Nigeria was considered one of the countries ready to receive the Pfizer vaccine but, because the distribution intended to achieve public health value, it was not practical to provide every capable country with the vaccine due to its limited quantity.

“This necessitated further review by a multi-agency committee to narrow down the selection process.This information was disclosed to us by WHO.

“As stated by WHO regional director, a number of factors were considered in allocating the small quantity of 320,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to 13 countries in Africa.

“These include mortality rate from COVID-19, numbers of new cases, populations of the countries involved and availability of appropriate cold chain equipment,” he said.

According to the official, Nigeria is by no means ahead of countries such as South Africa in terms of mortality or incident rate of COVID-19, and is not the least populated in comparison to the other countries.

“Replacement of the initial 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine with 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is in fact a welcome development as it will enable a wider reach of our population and is a better option using our routine cold chain system, though we still have an ultracold chain capacity that would have been able to store more than 400,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine,” he explained.

According to Shuaib, Nigeria has yet to find the South African variant of COVID-19 in its population, and will continue with plans to distribute the AstraZeneca vaccine.

He said that authorities were searching test samples for the South African strain and subjecting samples from travellers returning from the United Kingdom and South Africa to further genomic sequencing.

“We will continue to work with regulators to ensure that only a vaccine that is effective against the predominant COVID-19 strain in Nigeria will be administered.

“As you may be aware, South African Government has suspended vaccination with the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine in response to findings from a study which showed that the vaccine was less efficacious against the B.1.351 strain of the COVID-19 virus which is the predominant strain in South Africa.”

The executive director said that Nigeria had yet to isolate the strain.

“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, working with Nigeria Institute of Medical Research and others, will intensify search for this strain from samples collected.

“In the meantime, we will continue to work with NAFDAC to ensure that only a vaccine which is effective against the predominant COVID-19 strain in Nigeria will be administered,” he said.

He said that as part of ongoing awareness programme, the agency had met with the National Youth Council of Nigeria, and leadership of the Radio, Television and Theatre Art Workers Union.

He added that the agency would meet with over 50 more organisations and critical stakeholders to provide them with factual information that would enable them to produce educative content on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

He urged the mass media to present accurate and objective reports on that, and contribute to the fight against misinformation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has, no doubts, posed a crisis amidst all other societal challenges.

“There is therefore no better time to be a patriotic citizen than now.

“I am confident that, working together as patriotic Nigerians, we shall collectively overcome the challenges,” Shuaib said.

He reassured Nigerians that the Federal Government was committed to acquiring sufficient COVID-19 vaccines which would safe, efficacious.

Nigeria hopes to get 42 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to cover one-fifth of its population through the global COVAX scheme.

The initial doses would come as part of Nigeria’s plan to inoculate 40 per cent of its population in 2021 and another 30 per cent in 2022 with 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The COVAX scheme was set up to provide vaccines to poorer countries such as Nigeria, with about 200 million people and infrastructure challenges

 


Related Posts

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

June 30, 2025
Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

June 30, 2025
Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

June 30, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: The Liver

June 16, 2025

Discussion about this post

Latest News

Customs Intercepts ₦9.2bn Worth of Fake Bedroom Booster, Others

Customs Intercepts ₦9.2bn Worth of Fake Bedroom Booster, Others

July 11, 2025

Customs, NAFDAC Inaugurate Implementation Committee for 2024 MoU

Nigeria Customs Intercepts Container with Over 10,000 Donkey Genitals

Senate Hails Adeniyi’s Election as WCO Council Chair, Says It’s  a Major Win for Nigeria’s Global Trade Leadership

Oyetola Launches Door-to-Door’ Diplomacy for Nigeria’s IMO Council Bid

FG Urged To Link Warri-Itakpe Rail To Inland Ports, Road Networks

Red Sea Operation Rescues 4 More From Cargo Ship Sunk By Houthis

Shippers’ Council Set to Establish Border Information Centre at Idiroko, Bolster Trade Efficiency

NSC Boss Urges Cooperative Members to Invest in Housing for Long-Term Wealth

FAAN, Customs Intensify Efforts To Exit Grey List

Lekki Port Expands Reach with Transhipment to West African Ports, Eyes 500,000 TEUs in 2025

MAMAL 2025: MARAN Targets Maritime Fraud, Demands End to War Risk Premiums on Nigerian Trade

kindly like our Facebook page

Health

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert
Health

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

June 30, 2025

Mrs Roseline Akinlabi, Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health Desk Officer, Osun Primary Healthcare Board, says contraceptive pills cannot cause...

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: The Liver

June 16, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

June 16, 2025
Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

June 1, 2025
20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

June 1, 2025
Health Facts You Didn’t Know

How Your Habit Affects Fertility

May 19, 2025
Fruits For Raining Season

Fruits For Raining Season

May 19, 2025
See Mental Illness Like Other Treatable Diseases – Says Suicide Survivor

Health Facts You Didn’t Know

May 19, 2025
Alligator Pepper: Benefits, FAQ, Side Effects, & Warning

Alligator Pepper: Benefits, FAQ, Side Effects, & Warning

April 28, 2025
Water And Health: The Relationship That Helps Life

Water And Health: The Relationship That Helps Life

April 28, 2025

© 2021 Shippingposition

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Coast To Coast
  • Oil and Gas
  • Maritime Education
  • The Terminals
  • Maritime safety

© 2021 Shippingposition