The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has announced that the Federal Government had approved N10 billion to support domestic vaccine production.
According to the minister, the government of Nigeria is planning for the local production of the vaccines as they have started negotiation with the producer. Apply for COVID-19 Entrepreneurship Grant for 2021.
The Minister disclosed this on Monday during briefing by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19.
What you need to know about the first Batch of Covid-19 Vaccine that will land in Nigeria
The first Batch of Nigerians to get the “Pfizer-BioNTech” Covid-19 vaccine will get vaccinated in March 2021.
Nigeria is expecting the delivery of first 100 thousand doses of the Pfizer vaccine in January ending.
The vaccine is being donated by the Covax facility and their aim is to slow down and interrupt the transmission of the virus in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said the first batch is not meant for everybody.
Who are those that will get the first Batch of the Pfizer vaccine?
- Health workers that work in various isolation and treatment centres across Nigeria.
- Strategic leaders.
- Other frontline workers like immigration officers.
- Nigeria Police and customs officers
- People that work in Covid19 lab.
- Old people that have attained the age of 50 years and above.
- Young people with underlying medical conditions.
How much is the Covid19 vaccine in Nigeria?
The first batch of the vaccine is free. People need not to pay to get immunised because the vaccine was freely denoted by Covax facility.
The federal government is hoping to purchase more vaccine doses like other African countries. For example, South Africa has gotten one million doses of the vaccine to immunise their citizens.
Will another different Covid19 vaccine enter Nigeria?
Yes, the federal government is liaising with China, Russia and other countries to get about 42 million doses of different Covid-19 vaccine.
While the Pfizer will enter Nigeria the first quarter, other type like the Moderna vaccine will enter the second, third and fourth quarter.