Nigeria has received its first batch of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and shipped through the COVAX Facility, in a working partnership with CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.
The 3.92 million doses of the vaccines arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on board an Emirates Boeing 777-300 on Tuesday afternoon March 2.
“Nigeria has just received the first batch of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines,” Tolu Ogunlesi tweeted and presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad retweeted.
Also, in a statement, the United Nations in Nigeria said, the arrival marked a historic step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said: “The UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus.
“The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”
The Federal government of Nigeria has said health care workers will first be vaccinated.
