The Federal Government has said that Nigeria would receive four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine very soon.
The chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing in Abuja.
He said the “PTF has been assured that Nigeria shall receive the initial four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines very soon and Nigerians will be adequately informed on developments.”
According to him, “multi-sectoral machinery will be deployed to enhance the logistics to the “last-mile administration” processes that have been put in place.”
Mustapha also called for the cooperation and support of all Nigerians, noting that “this will involve community mobilization, training, transportation, storage, operations, etc.”
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The real work involves every sub-national entity, the Communities, the citizens, and the Civil Societies. We crave your cooperation and support to achieve this. The Honorable Minister of Health and the Executive Director (NPHCDA) will elaborate on this during this briefing.
While reassuring the citizens that no stone will be left unturned in the effort to access “safe and efficacious vaccines,” the PTF Chairman pleaded for patience and vigilance, pleading on the masses not to procure uncertified vaccines from the black market.
READ FULL SPEECH HERE:
REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON COVID-19 FOR MONDAY, 22nd FEBRUARY, 2021
I welcome you to the National Briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) for today, Monday, 22nd February 2021.
2.The issue of vaccines continues to dominate discussions and major policy and financial decisions by various countries of the world. As you are aware, NAFDAC in the course of the week granted emergency use authorization for the use of AstraZeneca vaccines in Nigeria. This decision was reached after due process by the regulatory body.
3.Despite this milestone approval, which will obviously be a game-changer, the PTF wishes to underscore the need to continue to take responsibility by observing all the non-pharmaceutical measures. Vaccines remain critical in the battle but we must remain well informed because of the intense transmission which is putting enormous pressure on the hospitals, intensive care units, and health workers in our different communities. Let me state that decisions made by leaders and citizens will determine the level of our success in tackling the acute phase.
4.The PTF has been assured that Nigeria shall receive the initial four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines very soon and Nigerians will be adequately informed on developments. The multisectoral machinery will be deployed to enhance the logistics to the “last-mile administration” processes that have been put in place. This will involve community mobilization, training, transportation, storage, operations, etc. The real work involves every sub-national entity, the Communities, the citizens, and the Civil Societies. We crave your cooperation and support to achieve this. The Honorable Minister of Health and the Executive Director (NPHCDA) will elaborate on this during this briefing.
5.The PTF wishes to reassure Nigerians that no stone will be left unturned in the effort to access safe and efficacious vaccines. We, therefore, plead for patience and vigilance. We also plead with Nigerians not to procure uncertified vaccines from the black market.
- There have been preliminary results from the COVID-19 Seroprevalence Household Survey, which is on-going. It is to measure the seroprevalence of antibodies to COVID-19 in the population of selected states (Lagos, Enugu, Gombe and Nasarawa) by sex and age group based on fraction of asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic or subclinical infections. The survey was carried out by WHO protocol on SARS-COV-2 sero epidemiology and the outcome is quite encouraging. The DG NCDC will elaborate on this.
7.In terms of numbers, statistics show that global cases and deaths have continued to decline. Most countries have registered significant declines in cases but amongst the top 5, the decline in Brazil is still minimal. The African Region has shown high decline and South Africa continues to record a sustained daily decline in cases. The WHO Country Rep will elaborate on this.
8.As at 21st February, 2021, Nigerian statistics show the following:
Cases: 152,074
Fatalities:1,839
Recoveries:128,668
Active Cases:21,567
No. of Tests:1,489,103
9.At the last briefing we informed you on the emerging issues on international travels involving the Emirates and the KLM airlines. Discussions are still ongoing through the Foreign Affairs and Aviation Ministries. Once again, we wish to assure Nigerians that our conclusions shall be in the interest of Nigerians. The Hon. Minister of Aviation will update you during this briefing.
- I now invite the HM-Health, DG-NCDC and the National Incident Manager to brief you.
11.I thank you for listening.
