Buhari, Osinbajo for vaccination Saturday, exercise begins today

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will on Saturday be vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, who disclosed this during the second edition of State House weekly briefing held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said Nigeria would begin to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to its citizens on Friday after a launch that would take place at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Shuaib said this as the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu, in an SMS sent to one of our correspondents in Calabar on Thursday evening, disclosed that the Federal Government would on Monday in Abuja distribute the vaccine to states.

Betta stated that the NPHCDA was still awaiting a complete list of health workers from states, adding that the vaccine could not be shared without a database of health workers.

Recall that Edu and her Plateau  State counterpart, Dr Nimkong Lar, had told The Punch on Wednesday that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, would at a meeting in Abuja on Thursday discuss with commissioners of health, the sharing of 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID–19 vaccines, which the country received on Tuesday from COVAX facility.

The facility, an initiative co-led by the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI and the World Health Organisation, seeks to ensure equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine by dividing about two billion doses across 92 low-and middle-income countries.

The Cross River State commissioner of health, in response to enquiries by The Punch at 6:30 pm on Thursday, stated that the meeting between the minister and the commissioner was still going on.

She stated, “Meeting is still ongoing, but the number (of vaccines) for any state has not been determined as the NPHCDA (National Primary Health Care Development Agency) has yet to get complete lists of health workers from states.

“The national rollout holds tomorrow (Friday) with strategic leaders receiving the vaccine on Saturday at the national level; states are to receive the vaccine on Monday. The amount not known yet; the NPHCDA is still awaiting the final lists of health workers from states which will inform the final decision for the final number going to states.”

When The Punch correspondent called her back at 8:20 pm, she said the meeting had ended, adding that the amount of doses that would be given to each state had not been sorted out.

But Shuaib had earlier on Thursday said the launch of the vaccination would take place at the National Hospital, Abuja and the frontline health workers working in the hospital’s treatment centre would be the first set of people to be vaccinated.

Samples of the vaccine were handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for safety review on Tuesday after the country had received them. The result of the review was being expected as of Thursday.

The NPHCDA boss said with the review concluded, the next phase would be for his agency to begin vaccination.

He said, “The next step in the vaccination programme, given that we have now received the vaccine, is a launch that will be taking place at the National Hospital tomorrow (Friday). The time scheduled for that launch is 10 am. The launch will be conducted by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

“The plan is to vaccinate the frontline health workers that work in the treatment centre of the National Hospital, those will be the first people just like we have communicated that frontline health workers will be the first people to take the vaccine.”

Shuaib said with the launch over, strategic leaders, such as the President and the Vice-President would receive the vaccine on Saturday.

He expressed the hope that the public vaccination of the country’s leader would further increase the confidence of Nigerians concerning the safety of the vaccine.

He added, “After that (the launch), the plan is to vaccinate Mr President, Mr Vice-President and strategic leaders on Saturday.

“We are hopeful that when Nigerians see leaders like Mr President and Mr Vice-President take the vaccines; it will increase their confidence around the safety of the vaccine.

“As you are well aware that even before the vaccine arrived in Nigeria,  there was a lot of hesitancy. It is a global phenomenon. Vaccine hesitancy is similar, no matter where you are, you have to provide the right information and to those people who have questions, we cannot dismiss their cynicism.

“It is our responsibility as public health workers not to only offer the vaccine, but to also do extra-work in terms of providing the resources that are needed and to convince people that these vaccines are safe.”