Nigeria has received 300,000 additional doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, the government said on Monday.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, disclosed this at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He noted that the vaccines were donated to the government by telecommunications giant – MTN and called on other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19 in the country.
The first batch of 3,924,000 doses of the vaccines arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on March 2 via an Emirates airplane from India.
Nigeria commenced the exercise three days later with the vaccination of four frontline healthcare workers in Abuja.
At Monday’s briefing, Mustapha, who is also the PTF chairman, disclosed that some Nigerian scientists have produced at least two local COVID-19 vaccines which were awaiting clinical trials and certification.
According to him, it is a welcome development that will open a new vista in scientific breakthrough and will boost the morale and image of the medical industry in the country.
The SGF, therefore, called on all relevant agencies to provide the required support and enabling environment for the smooth conduct of the remaining protocols for the certification of the local vaccines.
He also hinted that a platform would be created during the week to show Nigerians every information relating to the management of vaccines and the pandemic.
” The PTF had informed you in the past few weeks of the discussions on the KLM & Emirates Airlines services in Nigeria. Today, I would like to inform you that KLM has commenced full operations in and out of Nigeria since 15th March 2021 while operations of the Emirates in and out of the country have been suspended with the exemption of Cargo and Humanitarian flights.
” In the course of the week, new travel and quarantine protocols will be unveiled to incorporate persons vaccinated against this virus and make travels safe for international passengers.
” Efforts are being put in place for the reopening of the Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu international airports
