The United States (US) Embassy in Abuja announced that 2.5 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Nigeria on Thursday. The Embassy said the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had collected and kept the vaccines in cold storage in preparation for its distribution across Nigeria. The donated vaccine will assist the Nigerian government in its mass vaccination drive which is expected to take place at major markets, event centers, motor parks, airports, religious institutions, amongst others.
The Embassy said, “To date, the United States has donated more than 13.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with COVAX, or bilaterally to Nigeria. Additionally, the United States has provided more than $119 million in COVID-19 related health assistance.
“This includes a 40-bed mobile field hospital, ventilators and related training for 88 hospitals, personal protective equipment, technical assistance for vaccine readiness, risk communication and demand generation for vaccines, conducting an epidemiological COVID-19 detection and vaccine hesitancy survey, setting up electronic record systems, rapid response teams, training for over 200,000 military and civilian personnel on COVID-19 control measures, and technology for virtual training.
“In addition, the United States leveraged the PEPFAR-supported National Integrated Specimen Referral Network and laboratory investments to support the expansion of the NCDC (153) molecular laboratory network nationwide.”
