Nigeria joins the ranks of countries to have received COVID-19 vaccines, following the delivery of the COVAX-backed vaccines Tuesday.
COVAX delivered 3.94 million vaccine doses by AstraZeneca/Oxford produced in India by the Serum Institute of India.
In a statement, the United Nations’ office in Nigeria stated that the delivery would help contain the spread of the virus.
According to the UN Resident Coordinator, Nigeria, Edward Kallon, “The UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus.
“The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”
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Also speaking on the delivery of the vaccine, the Managing Director for Country Programmes at Gavi, provenance of the vaccine, Thabani Maphosa, said, “This is a landmark moment for the country and the COVAX Facility’s mission to help end the acute phase of the pandemic by enabling equitable access to these vaccines across the world.
“We are glad to see Nigeria is amongst the first receiving the doses from COVAX, thanks to the excellent level of preparedness put in place by the Government of Nigeria.
“Gavi looks forward to these vaccines being made available to the people most at risk, as soon as possible, and to ensuring that routine immunization services for other life-threatening infections are also delivered to avoid other disease outbreaks.”
