Federal government yesterday received two million doses of Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from the European Union, bringing the total doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine available in the country to about 51million.
Speaking during the official handover of the vaccine in Abuja, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said with this present donation of 1,936,050 doses by the European Union, “The total number of doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine available to Nigeria is about 51m doses. At the moment, Nigeria currently has in the country 12,916,450 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines.”
Shuaib reiterated that the country would be focusing the J&J vaccines at the moment on those who are in the hard-to-reach areas (riverine areas, desert areas and security-compromised areas).
“This is because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose for full vaccination. This way our health workers will be able to do what is called a ‘touch and go’ without compromising their safety,” he said.
On the number of people vaccinated so far in the country, Shuaib said, “I am glad to inform you that Nigeria has vaccinated 15,792,392 (14.1%) of her eligible population with the 1st dose.”
Stressing that the availability of different vaccine brands does not mean that some categories of people are selected for high quality vaccines, Shuaib noted that all COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are safe and can deliver adequate protection against the disease.
“While choice of vaccine is left for eligible persons to make, it is important to note that no particular vaccine brand is preferable to the other,” he said.
