Nigeria is set to ramp up its vaccination efforts against COVID-19 as the Federal Government announced on Tuesday that it was expecting a shipment of 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of July or early August.
This was disclosed by the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, (NPHDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, at a press conference in Abuja.
He said: “We now have information that Nigeria will get 3.92 million doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca by the end of July or early August.
“As we receive additional information on the exact dates in August, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details.”
Shuaib further state that a recent research from Public Health England revealed that the Indian variant of the virus, also known as the Delta variant B.1.617.2, is 92% susceptible to Oxford/Astrazeneca.
“It is therefore comforting to know that the vaccine used in Nigeria can protect against this variant that causes high morbidity and mortality in India.
“However, it underscores the need for us to ramp up our vaccination of more Nigerians”, he said.
