Nigeria has officially begun administering the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine following its approval by the National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The vaccination exercise was flagged off on Friday in Abuja by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, with Dr. Cyprian Ngong of the National hospital isolation center, who has been treating COVID -19 patients, being the first recipient of the vaccine.
The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, described the moment as a “watershed” while the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, emphasized that it was crucial “to first cater for those who cater for us”.
Speaking after his vaccination, Ngong, expressed happiness about the progress made in combating the virus with stints of sadness as his father was not fortunate to take the vaccine.
He said, “We’ve been at the forefront here in National Hospital at the Isolation Centre under the able leadership of the National Hospital. They’ve provided everything we need for this fight. We’ve lost some, we’ve got some and we are happy we are getting the vaccines now in Nigeria. That is about the best news we’ve heard since. I only wished my dad had had this vaccine maybe months ago or so. We lost him but we thank God and the fight is still on and we will win.”
Also, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo are expected to publicly receive shots of the vaccines on Saturday to disperse vaccine hesitancy amongst Nigerians.
