Nigeria Will Get 80M Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccines This Year – Fayemi

The 36 State Governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, have disclosed that Nigeria will take delivery of 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to cover 40 per cent of the nation’s population this year.

Chairman of NGF and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi recently revealed this at a virtual gathering in the UK, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, beyond the procurement of vaccines by the Federal Government, the governors are very vibrant proponents of the utilisation of public-private partnerships in vaccines procurement as a means of closing the gap between what is available and what is necessary to achieve immunity.

He added that another 60 million doses are being planned for 2022, and he believes the country can defeat Coronavirus.

His words, “We expect that about 80m doses of vaccines would be available in 2021 to cover 40 percent of the population, while another 60m doses are being planned for 2022. Beyond government’s procurement of vaccines, we at the NGF are also strong proponents of the utilisation of public-private partnerships in vaccines procurement as a means of closing the gap between what is available and what is necessary to achieve herd immunity.”

“As we already know, vaccines themselves are not cost effective, but rather immunisation is. To ensure people are immunized, state governments have a role to play in supporting the logistics and ensuring people get the vaccines.”

“As we look forward to recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our approach must shift from emergency response to strengthening the resilience and sustainability of our health system. We must task ourselves and rethink existing assumptions and facts around financing and delivery of health care in a manner that guarantees we build back better.”

“In the medium to long term, we must begin to think strategically about the future of public health security and therefore, explore the potential of in-country manufacturing of approved vaccines, following technology transfer. The pandemic is a good reminder of the implications of public health outbreaks on national security. We must take the leap and gain a better level of independence, in the area of vaccine research and development but also science generally.”

“When Nigeria reported its first case in late February 2020, only four laboratories in the country could test for COVID-19. By October 2020, testing capacity had expanded to over 70 laboratories across the 36+1 states.”

“These preventive actions are important given that a major priority in the country’s response is to break the chain of transmission individually and collectively through adherence to public health and social measures.”