Nigeria readies to receive 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses

The Nigerian government says it’s put machinery in place to receive 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine by early next year.

This comes as the Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire, ordered all isolation centres across the country to reopen, in light of the rising number of daily confirmed cases.

Africa’s most populous nation says priority would be given to workers in the health sector and vulnerable citizens to receive the vaccine first.

At a Covid-19 media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the head of Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, said the country will be using its polio vaccination system to ensure effective delivery of the vaccines.

Mr Shuaib said that 92 countries, including Nigeria, had formed an international coalition to ensure access and safety of vaccines.

This week a senior Nigerian Army officer reportedly died of Covid-19 complications in Abuja.

Over the past week, Nigeria has seen an upsurge in the number of daily confirmed cases, sparking fears there will be a second wave of the pandemic.