From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria which announced an new date for the commencement of the second phase of COVID-19 vaccinations in the country. The date which was slated for Monday, August 10 has been shifted by one week to August 16.
In a counter-statement to an earlier one made on Monday by the Director of Press, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, who had announced on Monday that the administration of the second round of vaccination would commence had been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the phase 2 vaccination against COVID-19 in Nigeria, will now commence Aug. 16, 2021.
He confirmed that the federal government “ has received 4,80,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and we will commence administering the doses on Monday Aug. 16,” adding that
“The exercise was supposed to commence tomorrow Aug. 10, but we suspended it till Monday, and the reason is purely administrative.
Mohammed debunked reports that the exercise was postponed over fears raised by some experts on the propriety of using Moderna vaccines.
He said, like the first batch of the Astrazeneca Vaccine which had been fully administered without hitch, the doses of Moderna vaccine donated to the country by the US were “safe and meant to save lives’’
“I want to thank Nigerians for the way they responded to the first batch of Astrazeneca Vaccine.
“I can say authoritatively that we succeeded administering the four million doses of the vaccine and we do not have a single expired vaccine. They were all administered to the targeted population.
“I want to encourage Nigerians to come out also to take the Moderna vaccine”, the Minister said.
He also disclosed that the second phase of the vaccination exercise would target people from 18 years and above. He also explained that the 18 years and above were targeted because the younger ones, even in the US, were now becoming more vulnerable to COVID-19infection and attack
Mohammed underscored the need for people to come out to take the vaccine stressing that “Nigeria has entered the third wave of COVID-19’’.
He explained that the Delta variant of COVID-19 pandemic which is more virulent and deadly had been recorded in some states since July.
Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire said the vaccines, which arrived are undergoing validation by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
He said the doses will be distributed to the local states once they are certified fit for use.
But in a broadcast last week, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu warned against mixing vaccines. He urged those who were yet to take the second dose of Astra Zeneca should not take Moderna and vice versa.
