Updated: AstraZeneca–Oxford Covid-19 vaccine arrives Nigeria

AstraZeneca – Oxford Covid-19 vaccines have arrived Nigeria onboard an Emirates airline -Boeing 777300ER on Tuesday.

3.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja in Nigeria at 11.36 a.m. on Tuesday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The arrival of the vaccine shipment from COVAX, a global scheme to procure and distribute inoculations for free, as the world races to contain the coronavirus pandemic was announced on Twitter by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.

Nigeria is third country to receive the COVAX vaccine in Africa after Ghana and Cote d’voire.

The 3.92 million doses is Nigeria’s first shipment from the 16 million doses initially expected in the country.

A total of two billion doses is expected to be delivered to COVAX member nations by the end of 2021.

COVAX was launched in April 2020 to ensure fairer distribution of the coronavirus vaccine between rich and poor nations.

Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Secretary General to the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, the Minister for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, the Director General, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, and the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu among others were at the airport to receive the vaccines.

An earlier tweet from the the Federal Ministry of Health read “We are currently awaiting the arrival of #COVID19 vaccine.”

Ifunanya Ikueze

Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.