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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government has taken delivery of two million doses of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines to boost its vaccination drive against COVID-19.
The vaccine which was donated by the European Union (EU) was handed over to officials of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) at a ceremony at the National Strategic Cold Store in Abuja, yesterday.
Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, in his remarks confirmed that the new donation of two million doses made it 51 million doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccines that Nigeria has received.
Shuaib said the vaccination team would be utilising the J&J vaccines on people in the hard-to-reach areas, notably, riverine, desert and security-compromised areas.
This, he explained, was because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose for full vaccination.
“This way, health workers would be able to do what is called a ‘touch and go’ without comprising on their safety,” he said.
“All COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) are safe and can deliver adequate protection against the disease. While choice of vaccine is left for eligible persons to make, it is important to note that no particular vaccine brand is preferable to the other,” he added.
Ambassador of European Union, Samuela Isopi, in his remarks, said the EU was the biggest donor of COVID-19 vaccines in the world.
World Health Organisation (WHO), Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, said he was happy that Nigeria had witnessed an increase in the average vaccination rates to over 200,000 doses daily.
