Covid-19: Federal Government says Nigeria will receive 52 million vaccines by Q2 2022

Nigeria is projected to get 52 million vaccines by the second quarter of 2022, according to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha.

On Monday, the SGF stated at the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 in Abuja that Nigeria now has vaccines at its disposal from Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson and Johnson.

“The most potent way of getting out of this situation is through vaccines, which science and research have presented to us. I call on every eligible person to come out and be vaccinated.

“There are various choices now. We have AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and we expect Pfizer to be delivered very soon,” he said.

“There will be enough vaccines to go round soon. By the second quarter of 2022, we would have received about 52 million doses of the vaccines,” he added.

He said the FG is working on policies to make it easier for fully vaccinated Nigerians to travel, including looking into reciprocity rules between Nigeria and other countries.

“For the time being, Nigerians are advised to always carry their vaccination card details or barcode on their electronic devices for easy access especially for those travelling outside the country.

“The ministries of Foreign Affairs and Aviation will continue to dialogue with the representatives of the UAE to resolve the issue of the Emirates flights between Nigeria and the UAE.

“The protection of the interest of Nigerians remains our primary focus,” he added.

The WHO recently claimed that the COVAX initiative has already made great progress and reached critical milestones. Among the accomplishments are the raising of almost $10 billion, legally binding agreements for up to 4.5 billion vaccine doses, and the delivery of 240 million doses to 139 nations in just six months.

COVAX was also unable to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable people received adequate vaccine supply due to a number of issues, including export bans in some countries, manufacturers’ and countries’ prioritisation of bilateral deals, challenges in scaling up production by some key producers, and delays in filing for regulatory approval.

Furthermore, COVAX anticipates having access to 1.43 billion vaccine doses in 2021, with roughly 1.2 billion of these doses going to lower-income economies participating in the COVAX.

Meanwhile, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) explained that Nigerians who have had their covid vaccinations but still have a “breakthrough infection” will only have milder symptoms than those who have not had their vaccinations.