Nigeria hopes to get 42 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine soon to cover one-fifth of its population through the global COVAX scheme, an official has said.
Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Shuaib says the vaccine would be procured through the global COVAX scheme.
The initial doses would come as part of Nigeria’s plan to inoculate 40 per cent of the population in 2021.
The COVAX scheme is set up to provide vaccines to countries such as Nigeria, whose 200 million people and inadequate infrastructure pose a daunting challenge to medical officials rolling out the vaccinations, as the West African country battles a second, larger spike in coronavirus cases.
Nigeria, where officials recorded low coronavirus numbers through much of 2020, had 1,204 new cases on Monday, its highest ever, as total confirmed cases edge closer to 100,000.
Nigeria will first inoculate frontline health workers, first responders, national leaders, people vulnerable to coronavirus and the elderly.
Shuaib pointed out that Nigeria must educate its citizens on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination.