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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has co-opted community pharmacies into COVID-19 vaccination to enable more access to vaccines among rural communities.
NPHCDA said with over 6000 community pharmacies spread across the country, coupled with the ease of access and long operating hours, it believes their involvement in COVID-19 vaccination will contribute to rapidly increasing vaccination coverage.
It was also optimistic that the collaboration will add energy to Nigeria’s effort to attain the national target of 70 per cent vaccination coverage that is necessary to achieve herd immunity.
Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, who flagged off the exercise in Abuja, on Tuesday, explained that NPHCDA was committed to making the vaccine more available and accessible to the people to enhance the fight against COVID-19.
He recognized the strong leadership and commitment of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), and the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) for their relentless effort to ensure that the collaboration becomes a reality.
He said: “This collaboration is, indeed, a step in the right direction as it is in furtherance of our determination to expand access to COVID-19 vaccination and other immunization services across the country. This is an unprecedented and novel initiative that we have embarked on as a country to strengthen our health security architecture.”
He identified community pharmacies as one of the most easily accessible and frequently consulted points of care for health care service delivery by the public sector especially in underserved populations due to their interconnectedness with the communities.
He commended them for their contribution during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring the availability and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), and hand sanitisers, affirming that the synergy will enhance the COVID-19 vaccination programme and help Nigeria achieve herd immunity while strengthening the health care system and contributing to health security.
He confirmed that many countries of the world have authorised vaccination in community pharmacies, including COVID-19 vaccination. “This practice has shown promise in countries like South Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, to mention but a few, where pharmacies are playing a crucial role in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine.
He appreciated the leadership of the ACPN for their support, and also charged them to see the opportunity as one of their numerous contributions to the health security of Nigeria, and, indeed, the good people of Nigeria.
“It is a commitment to humanity, and it will go down in history that ACPN contributed actively to end the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic in our country,” he said.
He assured Nigerians that there are enough COVID-19 vaccines in the country, and urged all eligible Nigerians between the age of 18 years and above who are yet to receive their COVID-19 vaccines or those who are due for a second dose or the booster dose to visit the nearest health facility or designated community pharmacies to get vaccinated, insisting that COVID-19 and all other vaccines are safe, effective and free.
Meanwhile, he disclosed that as of Tuesday, May 31st, 2022, 30,327,550 persons have been vaccinated with the first dose, this represents 23.9 per cent of the eligible population while 14,629,451 persons have received their second dose and 18,291,072 have been fully vaccinated which represents 16.4 per cent of the eligible population. 1,229,909 persons have received their booster doses.
