TheNewsGuru

Tag: COVID-19 VACCINES

  • No short-shelf doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria — FG

    No short-shelf doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria — FG

    The Federal Government says that there are no short-shelf doses of COVID-19 vaccine donations in the country.

    The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said this in Abuja, at the official handover of about 2.6 million doses of Johnson Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

    Shuaib said that the vaccines were now promptly shipped and distributed through the COVAX and AVAT facilities to reduce the risk of expiration.

    Newsmen reports that the vaccines were donated to Nigeria by the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb Jamie Christoff.

    Following the expiration of one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, announced that the country would no longer accept vaccines with short shelf life.

    The committee had said that such vaccines mounted undue pressure on health workers to administer them.

    It also took the decision to destroy one million of such vaccines publicly, to assure Nigerians that there was no intention to use them.

    Shuaib said that donors now recognised the need to give away vaccines before their expiration dates.

    According to him, they have also created a pathway for prompt shipment and distribution through the COVAX and AVAT facilities to curb the risk of expiration.

    “There is now better coordination, and the COVID-19 vaccines in the country are not expired nor have short shelf lives.

    “The Federal Government, through the NPHCDA and other partners, has continued to ensure that the country received vaccines with a long expiration date,” he said.

    He said that 62 million vaccine doses were available in the country at the moment, adding that 40 million more were being expected.

    While commending the Government of Canada for providing “the much-needed support”, Shuaib said that the donation was critical to helping the country ramp up its vaccination rollout process.

    “Johnson & Johnson offers a single-dose opportunity for full vaccination, which means if you take one dose of the vaccine, you are regarded as a fully vaccinated person.

    “However, we strongly recommend a booster dose after 2 months of taking the initial dose to strengthen your level of immunity against COVID-19.

    “A second dose of the vaccine serves as the booster dose,” he said.

    According to him, “we are in a full campaign mode in which COVID-19 vaccines are ready-made available in the health facilities and other designated places.

    “They are also brought by our vaccination teams to your doorsteps. We are leveraging on our polio eradication experience to fight COVID-19.

    He expressed confidence that with the kind of support received from the Canadian Government, Nigeria would sooner than expected, be able to put COVID-19 behind.

    On the SCALES 3.0 strategy, Shuaib said it offered opportunities for childhood vaccination and other Primary Health Care (PHC) services for Nigerians alongside the COVID-19 vaccination.

    “Parents can take their eligible children for vaccination against polio, yellow fever, measles and other vaccine-preventable childhood diseases in the same locations where the adults receive COVID-19 vaccines.

    “Our mobile teams are also in possession of all these vaccines when they visit your homes.

    “Please welcome them and present yourselves and your eligible children for vaccination as may be applicable,” he said.

    Christoff, while donating the vaccines, said it was his first assignment as an Ambassador to Nigeria.

    The Ambassador recalled that the Canadian Government had earlier donated more than 800,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Nigeria.

    He said that the donation was in fulfilment of his country’s commitment to supporting developing countries in ramping up vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to him, in 2020, the world was faced with the challenge to develop an effective vaccine.

    “In 2021, the challenges evolved to the production and distribution of the vaccines. Today in 2022, we need to put this vaccine within people’s reach,” he said.

    Dr Eduardo Celades Blanco, UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Health, used the opportunity to call on eligible Nigerians who were yet to be vaccinated to do so.

    “If we keep up with the vaccination, the likely scenario is that even though the virus continues to evolve, the severity of the disease will reduce over time.

    “Immunity increases due to vaccination,” he said.

    While appreciating the Canada for the donation, he said the gesture came at a time it was most needed.

    He commended the recent MIC/NIC survey on vaccination, stressing that in spite of the pandemic, the country was only one of the few globally that recorded improved Immunisation coverage.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, also commended the country’s COVID-19 mass vaccination strategy.

    Mulombo was represented by Dr Kofi Boateng, EPI Focal Point, Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

    He said that other African countries were already looking up to Nigeria to learn how to roll out their vaccinations campaign.

    Newsmen reports that as of Thursday, 40.7 million eligible persons have received the first dose of vaccines, while 28.6 million persons fully vaccinated.

    This represents 25.6 per cent of the eligible population.

    Meanwhile, 2.6 million fully vaccinated persons have received their booster doses.

    Also, the SCALES 3.0 strategy enjoins the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to step up intensive actions to ensure that every eligible adult and child is vaccinated.

    The Federal Government has also designed a performance-based incentive to improve the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and other PHC services in the states and the communities.

  • COVID-19 : World Bank approves $400m loan to fund vaccine acquisition in Nigeria

    COVID-19 : World Bank approves $400m loan to fund vaccine acquisition in Nigeria

    The World Bank Board of Directors has approved a $400 million credit to Nigeria in additional financing, from its International Development Association (IDA), for COVID-19 vaccine acquisition.

    The bank announced this in a statement it issued on Friday, in Washington.

    The bank said that the fund is meant to provide upfront financing for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and deployment within the country and that it would be implemented as part of the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project.

    Building on the Federal Government’s plan to break the chain of local transmission of COVID-19 and limit the spread of the virus, the original COVID-19 response program would be expanded to enable equitable access, the statement said.

    This is in order to purchase affordable COVID-19 vaccines for 18 per cent, or about 40 million of Nigeria’s population and support effective vaccine deployment to 50 per cent, about 110 million Nigerians.

    It also said that the additional financing would allow Nigeria purchase and deploy COVID-19 vaccines, strengthen relevant health systems that are necessary for a successful deployment and to prepare for future health emergencies.

    “Critically, it will permit the acquisition of vaccines to support Nigeria’s objective of having access to vaccines under the right conditions of value-for-money, regulatory approvals, and delivery time, among other important features.

    “This will ensure that the government meets its plans to vaccinate 51 per cent of its population in two years.”

    Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, said as the Nigerian government continues to tackle the effect of a third wave of the pandemic, it was crucial to continue to vaccinate citizens in addition to the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions.

    This, he said, was to avoid the dreadful consequences of another lockdown that left in its wake an economic toll the country was still grappling with.

    “This additional funding would ensure that the Nigerian government has the necessary financial resources to keep its vaccination drive going. This would mean that Nigerians will have increased access to the COVID-19 vaccination.”

    Mr Ayodeji Ajiboye, the World Bank Task Team Leader for the project, said recognising that there was currently an excess in demand for vaccines from both high-income and lower-income countries, the additional funds would let Nigeria acquire the vaccine at the earliest.

    He said it would strengthen the capacity of all states and the Federal Capital Territory to deploy the vaccines.

    “It will also strengthen the country’s health system interventions, such as enhancing health-emergency response capacity of health workers, cold chain equipment, disease surveillance, data management and use, and laboratory testing for the long-term.”

    The bank recalled that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had deployed over $157 billion dollars to fight the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history.

    Similarly, it also said that it was supporting over 50 low- and middle-income countries, more than half of which are in Africa, with the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and was making available $20 billion dollars in financing for that purpose until the end of 2022.

  • UK addresses controversies on recognition of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Nigeria

    UK addresses controversies on recognition of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Nigeria

    The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has faulted the claims that the United Kingdom does not approve of the COVID-19 vaccines used in the country.

    In previous months, the Nigerian Government has received millions of doses of vaccines by different manufacturers such as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Moderna, as well as Johnson and Johnson (J&J).

    Amid reports that the British government does not recognise some of the vaccines administered to people in Nigeria, Laing described the claim as false.

    “The UK is committed to global access to vaccines, and is among the largest funders to COVAX,” she said in a statement on Saturday. “The UK has donated 1.2 million vaccines specifically to Nigeria through COVAX and will continue to provide support.

    “I would like to emphasise that any statement that COVID-19 vaccines administered in Nigeria are not approved by the UK are completely untrue. The UK recognises the Oxford AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines used in Nigeria, irrespective of where they are manufactured.”

    According to the British envoy, the UK strongly supports the work of the Nigerian health authorities and the nation’s vaccination campaign.

    She added that the UK had encouraged all eligible residents in Nigeria to get vaccinated, saying that was the only way to end the spread of COVID-19.

    Laing also spoke about rules concerning international travel to the UK, noting that the British government remained committed to opening up international travel.

    The UK, she said, is using its COVID-19 vaccination certification process to enable those wishing to enter the country to do so safely.

    “We know this matters hugely to many people in the UK and in Nigeria – the extensive people-to-people ties between our two countries are at the heart of our bilateral relationship,” the British envoy explained. “From October 4, the current system will be simplified.

    “There will be a single red list of countries and territories where stricter rules apply, and there will also be a ‘rest of the world’ list, with simplified travel measures. The ‘rest of the world’ list will include countries currently on the UK’s amber list, such as Nigeria.”

    She stated that travel rules were kept under regular review and those planning a UK trip must be aware of the latest information and requirements.

  • FG discloses date for arrival of fresh 41.2 million COVID-19 vaccines

    FG discloses date for arrival of fresh 41.2 million COVID-19 vaccines

    The Federal Government has disclosed Nigeria would receive a cumulative of 41,282,770 vaccines through the COVAX facility and the African Union Commission by September ending.

    It stated 3,924,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca are expected by end of July or early August 2021 from the COVAX facility; 3,930,910 doses of Pfizer-Bio-NTech COVID-19 vaccine expected in August from the COVAX facility donated by the United States Government and 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer-Bio-NTech COVID-19 vaccine expected in the third quarter from the COVAX facility.

    Furthermore, 29,850,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson (Jassen) COVID-19 vaccine are expected by the end of September, which will arrive in batches from the African Union Commission.

    It reiterated that AstraZeneca vaccines being utilised in-country is effective against the Delta variant recently identified in the country.

    The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed these during a joint briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Abuja.

    He said: “It is with the support of our mainstream media community that Nigeria has successfully vaccinated 3,938,945 eligible persons across 36 States and FCT, representing 98 percent utilization of the 4,024,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine it received from COVAX facility in March 2021.

    “This comprises 2,534,205 people who have been vaccinated for the first dose, and 1,404,205 who have received their second dose of the vaccine.

    “We are also approaching a period of festivity – the Eid El Kabir celebration. What the numbers are showing us is that we have to be very careful that we don’t go all out and mingle in crowds, and refuse to take those public health measures.

    “If we do that, it means that we are welcoming a third wave. Similar situation occurred in India. Part of the reasons they witnessed a third wave was because of the festivities in India – a lot of traveling and crowding. We can learn from India.”

  • Free beer, doughnuts in US to promote acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines

    Free beer, doughnuts in US to promote acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines

    Free beer, free doughnuts, savings bonds — government officials and businesses are teaming up to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

    President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of adults to have received at least one shot by Independence Day on July 4 and overcoming vaccine hesitancy is key to reaching the goal.

    “We know there are millions of Americans who need a little bit of encouragement to get the shot,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

    Some 56 percent of American adults — more than 145 million people — have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine but the pace of vaccination has been declining lately.

    Federal, state and local officials are partnering with pharmacies, restaurants, breweries, supermarkets and sports teams to come up with incentives to get people to get their shots.

    In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy launched a “Shot and a Beer” program to encourage vaccination.

    “Any New Jerseyan who gets their first vaccine dose in the month of May and takes their vaccination card to a participating brewery will receive a free beer,” Murphy tweeted.

    The offer is only open, of course, to residents of the “Garden State” who are over the age of 21, the legal drinking age in the United States.

    Governor Ned Lamont of the state of Connecticut unveiled a similar “Free Drink” promotion with participating restaurants last month.

    In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents of the nation’s capital to “come get vaccinated and grab a beer, on us” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

  • Roll out of COVID-19 vaccines to commence in Abuja tomorrow – FG

    Roll out of COVID-19 vaccines to commence in Abuja tomorrow – FG

    Federal government has said it would commence the rollout of the 3.92 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the National Hospital, Abuja, on Friday with some frontline health workers in the facility.

    It also said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) will receive their COVID-19 vaccination on Saturday, a day after its roll out.

    This was disclosed to State House Correspondents on Thursday by the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, during the second edition of State House weekly ministerial briefing, held in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Also scheduled to join him in receiving the vaccines is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Boss Mustapha.

    Speaking on the planned roll out of the vaccines, Dr Shuaib said the President and other senior administration officials would publicly take vaccines to increase public confidence in it and overcome vaccine hesitancy.

    He said study revealed that only about 50% of Nigerians say they would definitely take the vaccines, making it imperative to demonstrate that the safe and effective.

    He said after launch of the vaccines on Friday at the National Hospital, Abuja, priority would be given to frontline workers in the health sector.

    He said the second group would be the elderly and the vulnerable before people who have no propensity to get the infection, would be considered.

    “After we are able to get our strategic leaders to publicly demonstrate that these vaccines are safe, the plan is to now go to the state level to start the launch at the treatment centres of the states and also get strategic leaders such as governors to publicly take the vaccines.

    “By the time all of these happen, we will have finished all of the necessary preparations; we will have created a dashboard that will track very carefully the status of the preparedness of the states.

    “We will not be sending vaccines to the states that have not fulfilled all of the criteria that will ensure that if the vaccines get to the states, they are going to be safe.

    “For example, we have communicated to the states that they have to wrap up their security around their cold stores because these are very valuable vaccines and we do not want a situation where vaccines are taken to the states and criminal elements take advantage to vandalise these cold stores.

    “We are also aware that during the #EndSARS vandalisation, there were some cold stores that actually suffered. I know that the state governors are trying to fix those but we have to verify that those are ready to receive our vaccines.

    “We are working with the sub-national level; we are in conversation with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to see how Nigerians can rapidly get their vaccines. It is very critical that we roll out rapidly so that we can cut into any kind of mutation that can lead to the development of resistance against our vaccines,” he said.

    Also speaking at the briefing, the Director-General, of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Iheakwazu, has warned that as much as vaccines provide some very important light, the response of – testing, surveillance, protecting health workers, investing in national health security, driving risk communications, etc. has to continue.

    He noted that Thursday made it exactly a year and five days since COVID-19 was identified in the country.

    According to him, Nigeria has since maintained a robust response to the pandemic and called for the sustenance of critical investment to the health sector to consolidate on the gains achieved in the last one year.

  • Nigerians will not be mandated to take COVID-19 vaccines – FG

    Nigerians will not be mandated to take COVID-19 vaccines – FG

    The Federal Government has stated that Nigerians will not be authorized to take the COVID-19 vaccination.

    Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora disclosed this yesterday during a chat on Arise Tv.

    ”Nothing will be made mandatory. It’s optional. The choice is yours. Nobody will be forced to take any vaccine,” he said.

    Asked if it might become obligatory later, Mamora said, “If that happens, it would not be a decision of Nigeria.”

    According to him, just like Yellow Card certificate, countries might have to start demanding a COVID-19 vaccination certificate before allowing outsiders in.

    He said Nigeria may be influenced by a demand by countries for a certificate of vaccination, adding that “it may just be something that will become global.”

    Meanwhile, Nigeria had said Nigerians who received COVID-19 vaccines abroad must be tested upon arrival in Nigeria.

    He explained that getting COVID-19 vaccination does not exempt a person from contracting the virus.

     

  • Governors meet today to discuss COVID-19 vaccines, distribution

    Governors meet today to discuss COVID-19 vaccines, distribution

    The governors of the 36 states in Nigeria, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), will on Thursday meet over the COVID-19 vaccines and distribution in the country.

    The governors, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by Mr Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, the Head, Media and Public Affairs of NGF Secretariat, said the emergency meeting would be held virtually.

    “The meeting is of a single-item agenda, which will discuss the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution in the country,” he said.

    Bello-Barkindo said the meeting, according to the invitations sent to the governors, would commence at 5 p.m.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Federal Government had on Tuesday in Abuja received 3.92 million doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

    The COVID-19 vaccine was shipped into Nigeria via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.

    COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF, the World Bank, Civil Society Organisations, manufacturers and others.

    The federal government had also launched a website to register Nigerians for the vaccination.

  • No COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians below 18 years – PTF

    No COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians below 18 years – PTF

    The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has said that Nigerians under the age of 18 years will not receive the COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

    The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, said that the Federal Government planned to cover 70 per cent of Nigerians within two years.

    Mamora warned that private organisations were not permitted to procure, distribute and administer the coronavirus vaccines.

    To ensure a smooth management of the four million vaccines arriving on Tuesday, Mamora said the PTF had approved the TEACH strategy and the electronic management immunisation system.

    He said that the strategy called TEACH approach harnesses all the benefits of traditional, electronic, assisted and concomitant house-to-house registration to optimise the use of innovative technology.

    Mamora said that the TEACH approach entails traditional method of vaccinating target populations using desk review of available data sources, identifying the vaccination sites and roll out.

    He described the strategy as innovative to ensure a smooth rollout so that no one was left behind.

    Mamora warned against private importation of vaccines and emphasised that only the National Primary Health Care Development Agency would import and manage vaccines until further notice.

  • COVID-19 vaccines: Nigeria not excluded from benefiting countries – FG

    COVID-19 vaccines: Nigeria not excluded from benefiting countries – FG

    The Federal Government has said the World Health Organisation (WHO) did not delist Nigeria from the list of African countries to receive its COVID-19 vaccines.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said this on Saturday while speaking on a radio programme.

    He said Nigeria was still on the list adding that the purported delisting of the country owing to lack of storage facilities to store the vaccines was a misrepresentation of the facts.

    “The report is untrue; It is not correct at all. WHO has not delisted Nigeria from the list of vaccine beneficiaries.

    “What happened was that Nigeria was to get 100,000 doses of vaccines from Pfizer in January ,which the pharmaceutical company later said would be delivered in February.

    “”Even while we were awaiting the delivery for Pfizer’s vaccines ,we had already put in place storage facilities that could store up to 400,000 doses of the vaccine at -70 degree Celsius.

    “The is apart from the storage facilities put in place by states in the country . So the issue of lack of storage facilities is not true .

    “And you know COVID-19 vaccines are limited in supply and that informed why WHO thought that if countries should get the vaccines based on affordability, so many would not get the vaccines .

    “So they decided to deliver millions of doses to countries that might not be able to get them easily.

    “So they promised Nigeria 41 million doses free with the initial delivery of 16 million doses of Oxford -AstraZeneca vaccinee to come this month “, he said .

    The minister said the WHO opted to send Oxford’s vaccines first because it could be stored in a relatively higher temperature .

    Mohammed, however, said all vaccines sent into the country would have to be certified safe by NAFDAC before they would be accepted.

    On the Executive Order recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari to compel the adherence to safety measures against COVID-19,the minister said the step was taken to safeguard the health of citizens .

    He said the President took the step as many citizens were not adhering to extant COVID-19 safety protocols.

    The minister appealed to citizens to always take precautions against the pandemic to guarantee their safety and that of others .

    He said the Federal Government had implemented a lot of intiatives under its Economic Sustainable Plan to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on citizens and businesses.

    He said the initiatives such as Payroll Support ,Grants to artisans had benefited hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.

    Mohammed said the government was committed to making life better for all citizens and would continue to implement programmes to positively impact on the lives of Nigerians.