NATIONAL: Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in Nigeria, Jan 2021 — Health minister

THE Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said barring any new development Nigeria should take delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine by January 2021.

He said a committee had been set up to look into the matter and it was weighing available options with a view to deciding the kind of vaccine that would be suitable for Nigeria

Ehanire disclosed this in an interview with newsmen after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

He said Nigeria had signed up with the World Health Organisation and the GAVI Alliance for access to vaccines immediately they are available.

The minister said, “We signed up for advanced market participation in COVAX. So, if we will be able to get our own, I think it will be in January.

“But there are different types of vaccines. There are those that have to be in ultra-deep freezers – the MRA type of vaccines. That is the freezer that must give you -80 percent type of degree.

“There is another type that has to be in the deep freezer of -20 degree which is a deep freezer and there is another type that can be in -2 degree refrigerators. This is the regular refrigerator.

“The one that will be in regular refrigerators is easy. We have them here. The one that will be in -20 refrigerators is also going to be possible because we also have the freezers here but the one that will be in ultra-cold freezers; we hardly have ultra-cold freezers in this country and to receive and store in those ultra-cold freezers will require that you purchase the ultra-cold freezers.

“So, we are working on the cost. Which one shall we get first? Obviously the one we can afford. Remember that we have 200 million citizens. We need to have a way to be able to get enough to be able to take care of our citizens.

“So, that means we must be able to get the vaccines that work well, with good cost of storage and cost of delivery. That is the one we will like to get as soon as they are available.”

Ehanire said Nigerians must wake up to the reality that the much-talked about second wave of COVID-19 is manifesting in the country already.

He urged Nigerians to continue to comply with the non-pharmaceutical measures released by the government.

The meeting also received the last batch of reports from ministers on #EndSARS interactions in their states.