Preparations are ongoing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of the commencement of the COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
The exercise is scheduled to kick off in the country on Friday at the National Hospital in Abuja, where the frontline health workers there will be the first set of people to be vaccinated.
This comes three days after Nigeria received the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX, a World Health Organisation (WHO)-backed initiative set up to procure and ensure equitable distribution of vaccines for free among countries across the world.
The first shipment of 3,924,000 doses of the vaccines arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Tuesday afternoon via an Emirates airplane from India.
Ahead of the distribution, the Federal Government had said the vaccines would be administered in the order of priority, with the frontline health workers on the top of the list.
It noted that it would also consider the elderly and the strategic leaders in the country – such as the President and other key public office holders in the country.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, had explained how the vaccines would be distributed and the conditions attached at a presidential briefing held on Thursday at the State House in Abuja.
He had revealed that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would take their vaccine shots on Saturday – a day after the health workers were administered the vaccines.
While the actual time for the inoculation of the two leaders had yet to be disclosed, the NPHCDA hinted that members of the Federal Executive Council would be vaccinated on Monday next week.
They include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, and ministers among others.
See photos of the preparation for the launch of the vaccination exercise at the National Hospital below:
