By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will receive about 4.8 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines on Monday, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has disclosed.
The NPHCDA Executive Director/CEO, Mr Faisal Shuaib, in a memo in Abuja on Sunday, said the consignment is a donation from the United States of America government.
The expected shipment will be the largest of vaccines received since the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign started in March this year.
Nigeria has run out of COVID-19 vaccines after an initial 4 million doses of AstraZeneca received from the COVAX facility were utilized three weeks ago.
This is coming barely after Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) called for strict compliance to the COVID-19 protocols in the conduct of all political events in the country.
In a communique issued last Friday, the PSC Chairman and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said the call followed recent confirmation of more cases of the Delta variant of the virus in several states and the continued rising number of infections and hospitalization across the country.
He warned all political parties, state governments, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to avoid the spread of the virus amid political gatherings and ensure maximum public safety.
The latest data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that Nigeria recorded 407 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as new infections continue to increase amid fears that the third wave of the pandemic has already hit the country.
The total number of cases in the country has risen to 174,315, with the new figure indicating a slight decrease from the 497 recorded a day earlier (Saturday).
The 407 new cases were recorded in 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with Lagos remaining the epicentre of the virus.
While the nation’s commercial capital recorded 160 cases, Akwa-Ibom State came second with 75 new cases while Ondo recorded 51 cases.
Aduragbemi Omiyale