Nigeria to vaccinate 109 million citizens against COVID-19 in two years

The Nigerian government planned to vaccinate approximately 109 million citizens who will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination in two years, a senior health official has said.

Speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 media briefing in Abuja, Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the agency remains in anticipation of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility and the African Union, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

"Working with the states, the federal government plans to vaccinate all eligible populations from 18 years and above, including pregnant women," Shuaib told reporters.

However, he said, the decision to vaccinate any pregnant woman will be made in consultation with her healthcare provider, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. 

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"After excluding those that are under 18 years old, we plan to vaccinate approximately 109 million Nigerians that will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in two years," he said.

People who have priority for COVID-19 vaccination include front-line healthcare workers, those that work in high-risk areas such as point of entry workers, rapid response teams, contact tracing teams, and COVID-19 vaccination teams, Shuaib added.

He reiterated that Nigerians should rest assured that the federal government through the PTF on COVID-19 was doing everything possible to mitigate the resultant complications of the COVID-19 on the health systems and economy.

Nigerian officials were recently quoted by local media as saying the country expected to receive first doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of February.