People at Ojodu-Berger in Lagos.
Photographer: Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP / Getty Images
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Nigeria has not yet purchased a Covid-19 vaccine, as the most populous country in Africa is still assessing the prices of different vaccines, their availability and the logistics required for nationwide implementation.
Minister of State for Health Adeleke Olurunnimbe Mamora said that once the government determines which vaccines are affordable and affordable, authorities should consider storage and distribution issues as they prepare to administer the vaccines to 200 million people.
“We have not made any purchases at this time,” Mamora, who is the ministry’s second most senior official, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. He added that the government hopes to have a definitive plan by the end of January.
An ambitious goal of vaccinating up to 40% of Nigeria’s population this year was questioned by a state governor and experts, who said there was a lack of resources and infrastructure in a nation plagued by daily power cuts and abandoned roads and bridges.
Over 37.9 million doses administered: Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker
Faisal Shuaib, executive director of Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said on Thursday that the country hopes to receive 100,000 doses of Pfizer Inc. fired in late January through the Covax initiative. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Shuaib said the West African country has secured services for ultra-cold storage facilities to maintain and distribute vaccines.
Covax is a global initiative supported by World Health Organization, which aims to provide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Read more: Exhausted nurses toil in South African wards full of virus cases
Although the number of infections in Africa has declined compared to other regions, an increase in cases has raised fears that the pathogen may spread more quickly on a continent poorly prepared for this.
Hospitals across Africa, from South Africa to Senegal and Zimbabwe, are struggling with an outbreak of infections that is overwhelming health facilities that no longer have beds, basic equipment and personnel.
Nigeria has officially reported 107,345 cases, with 1,413 deaths, but the test is not easily accessible to most people, with only about 1.1 million cases performed so far.
– With the help of Alonso Soto
(Updates with comments from Mamora, Covax reference from the third paragraph.)