The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led by the secretary to the government of the federation – Boss Mustapha on Saturday dismissed, as false, reports that Nigeria was disqualified from receiving the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency itself rubbished the disqualification reports on Saturday, saying Nigeria was well on track to receive its own share of the vaccine, while the Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said Nigeria has ultra-cold chain equipment to store the Pfizer vaccine whenever it lands here.
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Media reports on Saturday had claimed that Nigeria was disqualified, on Friday, from benefitting from the WHO-led COVAX initiative, owing to alleged non-availability of required refrigerating facilities for the Pfizer vaccine.
It had been listed to receive 100,000 doses of the vaccine to be administered to those in the frontline workers’ category.
The disqualification reports were declared untrue and misleading yesterday by the PTF, WHO and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
The National Incident Manager of the PTF, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad, said in Abuja that Nigeria was not in any way disqualified from getting vaccines from COVAX.
He said what happened was that a new deal was negotiated by Nigeria for the stock of vaccines and doses to be received.
He said that while the initial agreement was for the country to receive 100,000 doses of the Pfizer product, the new agreement with COVAX would see the country receive 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Muhammad said it was all mutually planned and agreed between the country and COVAX, adding that Nigeria’s preference for vaccines has always been those that are not high-cold-chain dependent.
‘It’s not true that we are disqualified. We are aware of it, it’s part of the negotiations,” he said.
‘You know Pfizer was supposed to give us 100,000 and we are doing it through the COVAX facility, now what they did was to look at countries that are more prepared than us and they gave them the Pfizer doses. However, in place of that, we are getting 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca from COVAX.
‘So it is just a shift in planning, not a disqualification, which is even better for us and we are aware. Nigeria is aware of the deal and Nigeria agreed to that deal. We knew about this since Monday this week.
‘It’s not a disqualification, but an agreement. It was mutually discussed and agreed and you know that our preference has always been for vaccines that are not this high-cold-chain dependent.
‘We may not have a problem getting the 100,000 to Abuja, but the problem is taking them round the country. Even though the 100,000 is meant to be provided to the frontline workers, which will not be a problem, we can reach all of them with that, but just looking at the long term arrangement, which we think is a better deal. Rather than getting 100,000, we are now getting 16 million, which is just in a short while.’
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
