COVID-19 Third Wave: FG Rolls Out Drums for Phase 2 Vaccination

By Sodeinde Temidayo David

As the third wave of the coronavirus heightens, the federal government of Nigeria on Monday flagged off at a brief ceremony in Abuja the administration of new vaccines, marking the start of the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The phase 2 vaccination programme came after the United States donated 4.8 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to the country.

According to reports, only about one per cent of the over 200 million Nigerian population has been fully vaccinated so far.

The flag-off ceremony, held at the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, was presided over by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PCS) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha

The Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire; the Minister of State for Health, Mr Olorunnimbe Mamora; the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Chikwe Ihekweazu; and the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Mr Aliyu Ahmed, were present at the event.

The event had earlier been scheduled for August 10 but was postponed, according to the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, who said the postponement was purely due to administrative reasons.

Apart from the over 4 million Moderna doses, the government has also taken delivery of 177,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine.

The single-shot J&J vaccine was acquired through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), with support from the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created under the umbrella of the African Development Bank.

The J&J vaccines are expected to be deployed in hard-to-reach areas to eliminate the need for travel for a second dose. More vaccines are expected in the country soon, the government has assured.

According to Mr Ehanire, Nigeria has gotten nearly 40 million doses of the J&J vaccines through AVAT.

In the latest update about the rising cases, Nigeria on Sunday (August 15) recorded 541 cases, bringing the total to 182,503 since February 2020.

Giving a breakdown, Lagos accounted for 242 cases, followed by Akwa Ibom, 94; Enugu and Oyo, 48 while Anambra saw 34.

Others included Rivers which recorded 19; Ogun, 17; Ekiti, 15; FCT, nine; Kwara, seven; Abia, five; Delta, two; and Niger saw the lowest case with one.

According to the NCDC, as of Sunday, no additional COVID-19-related death was reported as it stood at 2,219.