Although there are fears over the safety of the vaccines, the Executive Director of NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, says there is enthusiasm in Nigeria over Monday’s arrival of about 4m doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 jabs.
“I can tell you that there is a lot of excitement [about the vaccine arrival]. I know some people have their concerns and we are trying but I want to give you an example of the enthusiasm that Nigerians are showing around wanting to take these vaccines,” the medical practitioner said during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“Around midday on Monday when we launched the e-registration platform, in less than 24 hours, we already had up to 2.3m Nigerians who had registered. And that number continues to increase.”
While the arrival of the first batch of vaccines is a major boost in Nigeria’s fight against the disease which has been contracted by over 150,000 people in the nation, Dr Faisal said there is still much work to be done.
“So, we take that very seriously and this is why we are going to be working very hard,” he added. “Yes, the vaccines are here, but there is even harder work that needs to go on to make sure that we deliver the vaccines into the arms of Nigerians in a way that is respectful, in a way that is stress-free.”
He explained that the agency has put plans in place for the rollout of the vaccine and that it is only waiting for the approval of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
“So, we are waiting on NAFDAC,” he noted. “We feel that they are going to do all of the checks that are necessary and once they give us the green light, we will be ready to roll out the vaccines.”
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