The Federal Government says it would commence the vaccination against COVID-19 on Friday. This is coming two days after the country received the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, announced this on Thursday at a presidential briefing held at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He revealed that the government would kick-off the exercise at the National Hospital in Abuja where the frontline health workers there would be the first set of people to be vaccinated.
Dr. Shuaib also hinted that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would also take their vaccine shots a day after the health workers were administered the vaccines.
Although he noted that the actual time for the inoculation of the two leaders would be communicated soon, he disclosed that members of the Federal Executive Council would be vaccinated on Monday.
They include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, and ministers among others.
According to the NPHCDA boss, an improved percentage of 50 per cent of Nigerians have indicated willingness to be vaccinated while 25 per cent remain hesitant.
He insisted that the vaccines would not be deployed to any state that has not fulfilled its preparedness criteria.
Ahead of the distribution, the government had said the vaccines would be administered in the order of priority, with the frontline health workers on the top of the list.
The Thursday’s briefing was also attended by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, as well as the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.