By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has received two million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine donated by the European Union (EU).
The formal handover of the vaccines was done on Monday at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), National Strategic Cold Store, Abuja.
The EU ambassador, Mr Samuela Isopi, who made the presentation of the vaccines, said the donation is part of the EU’s commitment to jointly combat the pandemic.
Receiving the consignment, the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib said the federal government, also in combating the pandemic, has procured over 39 million doses of the J&J vaccine, through AFREXIM Bank.
He said only about 12 million doses of this single-shot vaccine are currently in the cold store.
The federal government in August 2021 took delivery of 177,600 Johnson & Johnson vaccines in Abuja. This marked the first wave of arrivals of COVID-19 vaccines procured through the African Union.
In September 2021, additional 1,123,200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine were received. NPHCD said the shipments were received as part of the 39,800,000 doses procured by the Federal Government.
Dr Shuaib said the single-shot J&J vaccine was received through the African Vaccine Acquisition Team (AVAT) of the African Union (AU), a facility provided by AFREXIM Bank.
Aduragbemi Omiyale