The federal government has flagged off the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination with the Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), as the country battles the third wave of the pandemic.
Health authorities said Moderna and Johnson and Johnson are very effective against the delta variant which has caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths across the country in the past weeks
Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation and chairman presidential steering committee on COVID-19 officially flagged off the event on Monday at the federal medical Centre Abuja.
It would be recalled that Nigeria on 12th August took delivery of 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines on August 12, 2021, in Abuja. The country earlier received 4,800,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the United States government.
Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), speaking at the event informed that Moderna will be administered in urban centres while Johnson and Johnson would be administered in rural and hard to reach areas.
“Because the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a one-dose effective vaccine, the 177,600 doses will be focused on those who live in the hard-to-reach areas (riverine areas, desert areas, mountainous areas, and security-compromised areas) and the elderly,” he said.
This is because they are people who may find it difficult to leave their homes to the health facility for second dose vaccination”, he said.
Read also: COVID-19: Nigeria gets 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines
In preparations for the commencement of the second phase, Shuaib said a total of 40,739 state-level personnel comprising health workers and partners have been trained.
He allayed fears on the concerns are being raised on what brand differences would mean to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.
“I want to assure Nigerians that all brands of COVID-19 vaccine used in Nigeria are certified by NAFDAC as safe and effective, especially against the Delta variant.”
It would also be recalled that the first phase of vaccination began on March 5th with the AstraZeneca vaccines and ended 13th July with 3,938,945 eligible persons vaccinated across the 36 states of the federation.
Shuaib had warned that mixing one brand of vaccine with another brand in the first and second doses was not allowed.
“Those who have received AstraZeneca as the first dose should receive AstraZeneca as the second dose, while those who will receive Moderna as the first dose will receive Moderna as the second dose when due”, he had said.
To this end, he informed that Nigeria will be receiving 698,880 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine today, 16th August, a donation from the UK Government through the COVAX facility.
The executive director said the doses will be targeted at those that are due for their 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
He added that in the next couple of weeks, Nigeria will be expecting up to 3.9million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to “complement what we already have and to ensure that we cover not only those who will be taking their 2nd AstraZeneca vaccine but also for those who will want to take their first dose of this vaccine.”
