The Federal Government on Tuesday said it was expecting a shipment of 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of July or early August.
The Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja.
He said, “We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92 million doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca by the end of July or early August.
“As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details.”
Shuaib also disclosed that recent research from Public Health England revealed that the Indian variant of the virus, also known as the Delta variant B.1.617.2, is 92% susceptible to Oxford/Astrazeneca.
He added, “It is therefore comforting to know that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that causes high morbidity and mortality in India.
“However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination of more Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, the World Bank, in partnership with the African Union’s Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, has disclosed its intention to support African countries with 400 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine with the support of the African Import-Export Bank.
This was made known in a joint statement made available to journalists.
“The President of the World Bank, Mr David Malpass, and his senior management team, comprising Dr Axel van Trotsenburg and Dr Makhtar Diop, met with the African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to discuss modalities for a partnership that will accelerate vaccine deployment to Africa,” the statement said.
According to Afrexim Bank’s President, Benedict Oramah, the bank has put down $2bn to facilitate the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine.
